


holding hands (while the walls come tumbling down)

by xiiaeo



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, M/M, Romance, Then, Will Add Tags As We Go, angel soonyoung, i have a weak heart too, one more relationship but its a secrettt, seoksoon, seraph seokmin, soft, soonseok, they are angels, will make u uwu then cry then uwu again dw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-08-04 04:16:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16339640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xiiaeo/pseuds/xiiaeo
Summary: The higher you fly, the harder you fall.





	1. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is my fic for Lordeventeen and my song is “Everybody Wants To Rule The World.” the story will build up like the song does so the song may not seem that fitting at first but it will be!! 
> 
> I MADE THIS UNIVERSE UP ENTIRELY SO PLEASE READ THIS OR YOU WILL BE CONFUSED!!! 
> 
> okay so imagine a planet (not earth, just a planet) and all the angels live in the north, all the demons live in the south and all the humans live in the remaining band in the middle. they do not populate these areas entirely (cuz water and inhabitable areas and stuff) but these are the regions where you find angels/demons/humans. 
> 
> there isn’t really a hierarchy for the demons because this fic is focused on the angels, but there is one for the angels!! the names are something i did not make up but i did make up the concept of it, i borrowed this hierarchy from Christianity but the traits of each angel are entirely made up by me
> 
> Name of rank - colour of wings + eyes  
> 1\. Seraphim (Seraph) - blue  
> 2\. Cherubim (Cherub) - pink  
> 3\. Thrones - orange  
> 4\. Dominions - purple  
> 5\. Virtues - green  
> 6\. Powers - yellow  
> 7\. Principalities - peach  
> 8\. Archangels - grey  
> 9\. Angels - white  
> you don’t really need to remember this since i will reference it a lot, just know that seok is at the top and soon is at the bottom

Seokmin awoke to red hues dancing around his closed eyes, the sun warming his eyelids and creating the private show, just for him. He decided to study the spectrum of light for a while longer before opening his eyes to the beauty that was displayed in front of him, just for him. Plump cheeks contrasted to his sharp eyes, and where Seokmin had hidden dimples, he had tender curls ending his lips in a fixed expression of content. The light played on his skin shyly and teetered around his tousled hair cautiously, scared of waking an angel from slumber.

 

It seemed that the light was dim compared to Seokmin’s loving gaze for the mischievous eyes opened shortly after the young Seraph looked at him. Seokmin smiled and snaked his arm around his angel, fingers leaving light touches on the pristine wings lying behind him.

 

“I much prefer your wings to mine, Soonyoung.”

 

“Why?”

 

“They’re white, pure, untouched. Mine look like fading dye.”

 

Soonyoung smiled and huffed through his nose, arching into Seokmin as the youngers fingers fluttered along his wings, close to his spine; Soonyoung shivered. He let the soft caress continue for a while longer, before rolling Seokmin over and straddling his hips, exposed thighs flush against Seokmin’s warm sides. Nimble hands came to rest on the soft thighs, mapping out new constellations while the angel spoke. 

 

“They do not look like fading dye. They're beautiful and colourful, mine are plain white.”

 

Seokmin stretched his wings out at the compliment, one either side of where he lay on his back, poking off of the bed. His wings were a lovely gradient of blue through white from top to tips, and they were also slightly bigger than Soonyoung’s; a symbol of power. 

 

Seokmin in turn admired his lover, timid wings curled in slightly yet back snapped straight and shoulders pushed back. Soonyoung looked very much at ease and proud at the same time, and Seokmin thought he had every right to be so.

 

“Plain white is nice. Why do you think people like winter so much?”

 

“Why do you think people like the fluffy white clouds floating around in the wide blue sky?”

 

Seokmin smirked.

 

“Because people always like things that are above them.”

 

Soonyoung seemed to ponder on his words for a while, head cocked against the light, before deciding not to delve too far into the metaphor. He hummed in response to the other and then shifted off of his lap, taking feather light steps across the familiar room to the bathroom. Seokmin decided to get dressed, having already bathed the night prior. He draped his night clothes on the arm of a plush chair before proceeding to his wardrobe and retaining his garments.

 

Soonyoung came bouncing out of the bathroom with a flood of light, beaming his signature smile at him. Without a word spoken between them Soonyoung helped Seokmin to drape the layers of white and gold clothing on himself, fastening buckles and looping laces as he went along. Seokmin didn’t need to voice his thanks aloud as he would’ve done in the past, for he knows that the shorter boy understands his gratitude without a verbal indicator. 

 

“Anything interesting happening today?” Soonyoung questioned while walking around Seokmin to pat any stray feathers into place.

 

“Just the usual stuff,” Seokmin shivered slightly at the gentle caress on his wings, “Still trying to figure out what to do to appease the demons.”

 

Soonyoung hummed, coming to a halt in front of a now regal looking Seokmin, “They’re adamant on having more land?”

 

Seokmin nodded, “They say they need more space for a growing population but if we let them expand much further then they will be taking land from the humans.”

 

Soonyoung sighed in worry and bit his lip in thought, “Have they asked the humans?”

 

“You know that they consider the humans below themselves,” Seokmin chided in a reminder, “They couldn’t care less about what would happen to the humans.”

 

“I hope that you can reach an agreement with them,” Soonyoung declared seriously, hands coming up to rest on Seokmin’s shoulders so he could kiss the other, “Stay safe.”

 

“You too,” Seokmin smiled and then walked to the door while speaking, “I’ll send for Wonwoo to come and talk with you.”

 

Soonyoung groaned in delight, “Please do. It gets so boring in here by myself all the time.”

 

“I know and I’m sorry,” Seokmin gave a wry smile, hand on the door handle, “I’m working on that too.”

 

Soonyoung waved the other away, “It’s fine, I understand. Just go quickly before you’re late.”

 

Seokmin disappeared with a small wave and Soonyoung flopped onto the bed face first, wings drooping over him like a sad blanket. With Seokmin being the eldest Prince of Heaven  _ and  _ a Seraph, the highest form of an angel, someone as low in society as Soonyoung shouldn’t even be able to speak to him; never mind be in a relationship with him.

 

Alas, Soonyoung ends up locked in Seokmin’s room all the time for his own safety as he’s the one who would be reprimanded if their relationship was discovered. Soonyoung would either have his wings clipped and sent to some desolate land or could be banished to live with the demons, and unsurprisingly neither of these outcomes appealed to him.

 

Over the last year, Soonyoung has managed to entertain himself with books and star gazing for the most part, but he’s pretty certain he would’ve lost his sanity if not for Wonwoo; Seokmin’s elder yet adoptive brother. He was not eligible to assume the throne and was simply regarded as a prince with a lower status than Seokmin, despite being older than the latter. Soonyoung is almost certain that the only reason he was adopted by the royal family is due to his serenity coloured wings, giving him the status of a Cherubin - the next rank after Seraphim, yet somehow rarer to see.

 

Soonyoung knew Wonwoo had arrived simply by the way the door opened and how long it took for it to close again while the latter shuffled his wings inside.

 

“Why are you trying to suffocate yourself?” Wonwoo questioned, voice almost as silks as the sheets Soonyoung was struggling to breathe through.

 

“I’m so bored,” he replied in a muffled mumble.

 

“I can bring you some more books, if you’d like,” Wonwoo offered, lifting Soonyoung’s wing up to sit on the edge of the bed.

 

“I’ve read all the books in this palace,” Soonyoung complained in a whine, rolling onto his side to face Wonwoo and curling up into the fetal position with a pout.

 

The cherub scoffed, “Even  _ I _ haven’t read all of the books in this palace, so no offence, but I doubt that you have.”

 

Soonyoung spoke in a low voice, “I just want to go outside again.”

 

Wonwoo gave him a sad smile, “You know you can’t. It was so hard for Seokmin to sneak you here in the first place and I doubt that everything could be so perfectly coincidental like that again.”

 

“I know,” Soonyoung drawled, “I just hate that I have to stay in here like I’m some illicit lover.”

 

“You are,” Wonwoo snickered and Soonyoung swatted him with his wing, “Joking. Seokmin is trying to balance out the hierarchy and make it less rigid, but thousands of years of formality can’t be undone in one lifetime.”

 

“Super reassuring Wonwoo, thanks.”

 

The younger rolled his eyes at the sarcasm, “He is trying, is all I mean. Give him time.”

 

“I know he is,” Soonyoung sighed sadly, moving lazily into a seated position, “I just wish I could help him in some way.”

 

“Just having you here is a huge help,” Wonwoo pointed out, “He’s too young to be taking on all of the responsibilities that he is doing, but he’s been a lot happier ever since he met you.”

 

Soonyoung smiled shyly at the revelation but the expression quickly vanished as his eyes widened, Wonwoo peering at him in confusion, “Soonyoung?”

 

“Something’s wrong.”

 

“With Seokmin,” Wonwoo concurred, picking up on the sudden dismal aura a second later.

 

“Go to him,” Soonyoung urged, getting up and hauling Wonwoo to the door swiftly, “Make sure he’s okay.”

 

“Soonyoung, you know I’m not allowed in the throne room,” Wonwoo insisted quickly.

 

The angel didn’t get a chance to respond as the door opened with a timid creak and Seokmin entered, wings drooping but body tense and jaw set firmly. The already present duo could feel the plethora of emotions leaking out of Seokmin when he held the door open and addressed Wonwoo, “Could you please leave?”

 

The elder brother nodded wordlessly and slipped out of Seokmin’s bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. Soonyong remained rooted to the spot while Seokmin took long steps towards him, halting before him with a long exhale, “I’m getting married.”

 

Soonyoung gave a breathy nervous laugh while trying to lighten the mood, “This isn’t how I imagined you’d propose.”

 

Seokmin’s stony expression didn’t even flinch at the lighthearted joke and if anything, it only seemed to make his eyes sadder.

 

“I’m getting married to the Prince of Hell.”

 

**_━One Year Prior━_ **

 

Seokmin was overjoyed at finally having the chance to explore the Capital by himself, no guards tailing him and no royal materials giving him away. He wore loose cotton pants and a baggy shirt, wings folded behind him and a cloak concealing their regal hue while he traipsed aimlessly along the meandering streets. Thankfully, his face was not yet widely known outside of the palace and any civilians who passed him either gave a friendly smile or paid him no real attention.

 

Knowing that this would likely be his first and last chance to be out by himself, Seokmin didn’t stay in one are for long and was content to simply walk around, observing his kingdom in its natural state. 

 

Many Virtues flew over him, their green wings reminding him of spring which was quickly chased by the golden feathers of a bunch of Thrones. Seokmin enjoyed watching the classes mingle freely and longed for there to be a time where they would not be so divided based upon the colour of their wings.

 

His whimsical sigh was cut short when three children went staggering through the air above him, inexperienced wings flapping in all the wrong ways and making the prince smile fondly. If not for it making his wings visible to those in the area, he would’ve taken flight to help the three stragglers to right themselves in their mid-air struggle.

 

It turned out that they didn’t need his help anyway. Another angel, perhaps the same age as Seokmin, came spiralling down and swooped them up in his arms; the trio of youth laughing as they were propelled high into the sky. Seokmin followed them on the ground and ended up venturing through knee-length grass as the older angel promptly dropped the three younger ones, only to swoop down and collect them again.

 

After watching this cycle repeat two more times, Seokmin began to feel enamored by the other angel’s playful antics and boisterous laugh. Even while piercing through the air to play with the children, Seokmin thought that the other looked ethereal and would’ve never placed him as a simple Angel if not for the plain white wings carrying him around.

 

The Angel seemed to notice Seokmin’s piercing gaze and looked down at him with an inquisitive expression, sending the children back into the heart of the city while he slowly descended into the grassy field. Seokmin watched him all the way and smiled even when the other looked at him with suspicion, “You’re not from around here, are you?”

 

It wasn’t exactly true since Seokmin rules this land, but technically he isn’t from the Capital, he’s shackled to the palace, “No, I’m not.”

 

“I thought so. I know everyone in the Capital and I’ve never seen you before,” the Angel gave Seokmin a thorough once over before smiling and stretching a hand out, “I’m Soonyoung.”

 

“Seokmin,” he replied, shaking the hand that was offered to him with an equally bright smile; he just made his first friend.

 

“Like the prince?” Soonyoung enquired in wonder.

 

“Yeah,” Seokmin responded breathily, “Like the prince.”

 

“Cool,” Soonyoung quipped, “So, why were you following me and those kids?”

 

“Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Seokmin explained quickly, hands coming up in defence, “It’s just been a long time since I came out and it was nice to see people having fun.”

 

Soonyoung scrunched his face in thought, “Since you came out of where?”

 

“Home?”

 

Soonyoung smiled knowingly, “You don’t sound too sure about that.”

 

“Well it is my home,” Seokmin tried to convince himself, “I live there, but…”

 

“You don’t actually feel at home there?” Soonyoung inferred instantly.

 

“Yeah,” Seokmin sighed, wondering how this angel he’d only just met was getting him to open up so easily.

 

Soonyoung didn’t push any further on the matter and flapped his wings slightly to hover in front of Seokmin, “Want me to give you a tour of the Capital?”

 

“I can’t fly,” Seokmin lied through his teeth.

 

“What?” Soonyoung exclaimed in shock, circling around Seokmin to try and see his wings but they were securely hidden by his brown cloak, “Why not?”

 

“They’re broken,” Seokmin lied again, “I fell out of the sky.”

 

“How?” Soonyoung enquired in concern, landing in front of Seokmin, “What happened?”

 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Seokmin pleaded, eyes downcast.

 

Soonyoung nodded easily, “Alright, well, would you like an on foot tour of the Capital?”

 

“Actually,” Seokmin began, lifting his gaze to stare into Soonyoung’s sharp eyes, “I’d like you to take me somewhere special to you.”

 

“Special to me?” Soonyoung reiterated in surprise, “Why?”

 

“I’d like to get to know you,” Seokmin spoke gently, “But if you’re not comfortable showing me or there aren’t any places special to you then that’s fine.”

 

“No,” Soonyoung insisted quickly, “There is a place. I’ll take you, but it might be a bit hard on foot.”

 

“That’s fine,” Seokmin smiled, “Lead the way.”

 

“It’s actually through these fields,” Soonyoung revealed, setting them off in a gentle stroll through the soft grass, “It’s not that far from here because I used to be afraid of leaving the Capital.”

 

“Why?” Seokmin questioned hesitantly, “If you don’t mind me asking?”

 

“I don’t mind,” the Angel waved his unease away, “All angels might exist in complete harmony in the Capital, but once you go further out things become a bit less accepting. There’s no fights or anything like that, everybody minds their own business, but they all tend to look down on people like me.”

 

“Because your wings are white,” Seokmin voiced sadly.

 

“Yeah,” Soonyoung concurred with the simple wording, “What colour are yours?”

 

Seokmin didn’t want to lie any more than he already had to the friendly Soonyoung, but revealing that they were a soft blue hue would give him away as royalty straight away, “Green.”

 

“You’re a Virtue?” 

 

“Yeah,” Seokmin lied.

 

“You’re right in the middle of the hierarchy then,” Soonyoung stated.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Seokmin agreed while following Soonyoung across a moss covered set of stepping stones, the crystal clear water whispering as it passed by.

 

“Do you care much for the hierarchy?” Soonyoung asked, waiting at the other side of the river while Seokmin wobbled on a slippery rock in the middle, “You don’t strike me as someone who does, considering that you’re following a lowly Angel around.”

 

“You are  _ not _ just a lowly Angel,” Seokmin declared valiantly before yelping as gravity pulled him off of the mossy rock.

 

Instead of finding himself soaked to the core in fresh water, Seokmin felt himself be placed down gently on the river bank, two arms unwinding from his waist while Soonyoung laughed behind him.

 

“Shut up,” the faux Virtue demanded shyly, despite slightly laughing at himself.

 

“Sorry,” Soonyoung replied in a breathless heave, trying to get air back after laughing it all out, “Please, do continue with what you were saying.”

 

Seokmin rolled his eyes, somehow already fond of the shorter angel, “You’re not just a lowly Angel, and I don’t care for the hierarchy at all. I think it some aspects it is necessary, like discerning royalty, but I don’t believe that you should treat someone any differently based on the colour of their wings alone.”

 

Soonyoung hummed, clearly digesting Seokmin’s words before responding, “You don’t speak like a Virtue.”

 

“And you don’t look like an Angel,” Seokmin countered, implying that Soonyoung’s beauty is that of a much higher class. 

 

The Angel didn’t seem used to feeling coy, wings curling around himself to hide a light blush from Seokmin’s kind eyes as he dismissed the compliment, “If you say so.”

 

“I insist,” Seokmin smiled and then panicked, “But if I’m creeping you out by being too forward then you can just tell me to go and I will.”

 

Soonyoung snorted, turning back to look at Seokmin as he led them through a small woodland, “You’re not creeping me out, quite the opposite actually.”

 

“Oh,” Seokmin realised the meaning behind those words thanks to Soonyoung’s playful smile and voice laced with mirth, “Good to know.”

 

Soonyoung simply hummed in response and continued on through the trees, Seokmin trailing close behind him as they drifted into a comfortable silence. Neither of them could comprehend how they felt so content to be with each other after knowing each other for less than an hour, but they weren’t about to complain; good things will come to those who wait, and Seokmin’s been waiting all his life to meet someone as good as Soonyoung.

 

“This is the part that I said would be hard on foot,” the Angel announced.

 

After a few minutes of walking they had come upon a tall hill with an almost vertical ascent from this side. Seokmin looked up at the rocky cliffside with slight fear, “Uh, yeah, I can see why that’s hard. I don’t think I can climb that.”

 

“I don’t think you can either after seeing you slip off of that rock,” Soonyoung joked mischievously before spreading his wings and gesturing for Seokmin to come closer to him, “I’ll carry you up.”

 

“Really?” Seokmin asked, guilt eating at his insides while his perfectly functional wings lay flat on his back, “I’m quite heavy…”

 

“I doubt that you are and it will only take a few seconds to get up there,” Soonyoung gestured up at the mile high hill, “I’m a fast flyer. Now come here.”

 

Seokmin did as told expecting that he would latch onto the other somehow, not that Soonyoung would flutter up and hug him like a koala; arms wound around his neck and legs wrapped around his waist. Seokmin froze at the close proximity and Soonyoung gave him a challenging smile, “Aren’t you gonna hold on?”

 

“Uh, yeah?” Seokmin questioned dumbly, arms wrapping around Soonyoung’s waist before the Angel shot into the air, easily taking Seokmin with him.

 

Once at the top after mere seconds like Soonyoung had said, the aforementioned set Seokmin down before detaching himself from the latter, hands settled on the taller’s shoulders, “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

 

Seokmin’s usually tame auburn hair was wildly displaced, “You fly like a madman.”

 

“I could’ve dropped you instead,” Soonyoung shrugged with a smile, patting Seokmin’s hair back into place, “You should be grateful.”

 

Seokmin didn’t reply to the other because he was rendered speechless now that he could see how beautiful he really was. Soonyoung was focussed on setting Seokmin’s auburn strands back into a presentable manner, the left side of his jaw clenched in concentration while he squinted slightly at the challenge. It wasn’t the most flattering expression imaginable, but Seokmin became content to let his gaze traverse along Soonyoung’s plump cheeks and down to his slight pout before going back up to find white irises staring back at him.

 

Soonyoung parted his lips to say something but no words came out so Seokmin spoke his thoughts instead, “Your eyes are beautiful.”

 

At the compliment Soonyoung’s gaze faltered and he stepped back, white fading from his eyes as they reverted to their natural brown, “I hate them.”

 

“Why?” Seokmin enquired in worry, following Soonyoung along the edge of the cliff until the Angel took a seat on the long grass, facing the Capital.

 

“They scare people,” Soonyoung explained once Seokmin had dropped to sit next to him, carding his fingers through the grass, “They’re too piercing.”

 

“I think they’re beautiful,” Seokmin reiterated, staring at the soft profile of Soonyoung’s face as the Angel gazed at the palace in the distance.

 

Soonyoung scoffed, “I appreciate the flattery but white is definitely the worst of the nine colours.”

 

“I think blue is,” Seokmin replied absentmindedly, now also looking at the palace.

 

“The colour of the Seraphim?” Soonyoung asked, clearly perplexed and snapping his stare to Seokmin, “How come?”

 

“No real reason,” Seokmin shrugged, baby blue wings shifting under his cloak with the action, “Just sick of seeing it.”

 

Sharp eyed Soonyoung enquired with suspicion, knowing that for most people seeing a Seraph is quite the spectacle, “You spend a lot of time around royalty?” 

 

Seokmin’s eyes widened almost comically at the question and the Angel couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, patting him on the thigh, “It’s okay, I could tell.”

 

“Tell what?” Seokmin swallowed.

 

“That you’re at least something akin to regal,” Soonyoung scrutinised with a playful smile, “Virtues are very stuck up about how great they are, they’d never conceal their wings even if they were broken.”

 

Seokmin froze in nervous silence until Soonyoung looked back to the palace with a knowing smile, “Why are you so far from home?”

 

The Seraph sighed and his hands plucked at the fresh grass lazily, “That’s not my home. It’s my hell.”

 

Soonyoung whistled lowly, “And here I was fantasising about how great life would be if I lived inside those walls.”

 

“Really?” Seokmin asked as his pile of shredded grass blew away with the soft breeze.

 

“Yeah,” his voice took on a whimsical lilt, “I just wonder what it would be like to be born into the top of society rather than the bottom.”

 

“I don’t think it would make anything better.”

 

“You aren’t discriminated against or shunned,” Soonyoung snapped.

 

Seokmin kept his soft tone, “I am judged a lot with prejudice, as you have just demonstrated. I am not marginalised but I am secluded from normalcy.”

 

“Yeah,” Soonyoung sighed, “Sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry for expressing your opinions,” Seokmin smiled gently, “I’m just not a very good representation of the haughty Seraph stereotype.”

 

“You’re definitely not,” Soonyoung concurred instantly, “I would’ve placed you as a Cherubin.”

 

Seokmin hummed thinking of his pink-winged friend, “Their wings are beautiful.”

 

“They are,” Soonyoung agreed and then looked back to Seokmin, “I’ve never met a Seraph before but I bet yours are too, and I bet they aren’t actually broken, right?”

 

Seokmin shifted guiltily, “They’re not broken, sorry for making you carry me.”

 

“It’s fine,” the Angel smiled, “I’d do it again if necessary.”

 

Seokmin mirrored the expression in unvoiced gratitude and then pursed his lips for a second before standing up, backlit by the dusk sun while he fumbled with the knot at his neck holding his cloak in place.

 

“You don’t have to show me,” Soonyoung stressed quickly, fluttering to stand up.

 

“I want to,” Seokmin assured softly, “You showed me your secret place so I should show you something secret, right?” 

 

Soonyoung didn’t reply in favour of marvelling at what was revealed to him when Seokmin let his cloak fall to the grass.

 

The Seraph stretched out his wings to show them off properly, but the slight curl inwards told Soonyoung that he was somewhat shy at the display. Seokmin’s wings are noticeably larger than Soonyoung’s and they fade from a deep sapphire to a soft sky blue, ending the gradient in pure white.

 

Seokmin flashed turquoise irises at Soonyoung; a characteristic meant for asserting dominance or expressing submission that was never quite necessary, given that their wings are the same colour, until people began to dye their feathers into faux colours.

 

“They’re beautiful,” Soonyoung announced, eyes mapping Seokmin’s wingspan until he looked the other in the eyes and felt somewhat small.

 

Seokmin didn’t like the fact that the Angel’s irises uncontrollably flickered to white so he let his own fade back to brown, Soonyoung’s doing the same, “Thank you. I prefer yours though.”

 

“Mine?” Soonyoung asked incredulously, spreading his wings out, “These things? They’re boring. Plain white.”

 

“I like them,” Seokmin shrugged, hovering in the air, “Wanna fly?”

 

“As if I’d say no to that,” Soonyoung shot up a few feet and then halted, “Won’t someone see you?”

 

Seokmin stopped next to him, “I doubt it. We’re on the outskirts and it’s starting to get dark.”

 

“Then you best keep up, Your Highness,” Soonyoung joked with a wink and all but disappeared from sight, boisterous laugh being the only indicator as to which direction he went.

 

Seokmin did his best to tail the Angel, competitive spirit desiring that he somehow overtake the other while the rational side of him could tell it was impossible. Soonyoung had flown them up high enough to be mingling with the clouds and he came to a slow stop, Seokmin finally having the chance to catch up.

 

“You’re so slow,” Soonyoung mocked playfully when Seokmin close enough.

 

“I don't get the chance to fly around that often,” Seokmin explained with a wry smile, “The only use my wings get is for practicality.”

 

Soonyoung gave him a piteous gaze and then his face brightened with an idea, “Want to see something cool?”

 

“Sure?”

 

“You don’t have to sound so apprehensive,” Soonyoung joked with an eye roll, gesturing for Seokmin to follow him higher into the sky, “You might want to cover your ears though.”

 

“Why?”

 

“You’ll see. Now wait right here and keep looking straight ahead.”

 

And with that Soonyoung was gone, shooting away from Seokmin until he became a small, blurred spec against the dark orange of the dusk sky. Seokmin stayed put as instructed but was too intrigued to follow Soonyoung’s previous advice of covering his ears; something he would regret very soon.

 

The Angel came soaring back past Seokmin at a speed wherein the latter could barely see him. A loud boom sounded, seemingly from Soonyoung, and Seokmin could see what looked like a circular cloud form around his waist before he continued on, the sound resounding for miles while Seokmin hovered in awe, slightly deafened.

 

Soonyoung gradually decelerated and flew back over to him at a relatively normal speed, beaming brightly, “Cool, right?”

 

“Well, yeah,” Seokmin agreed as if the answer was obvious, “But what did you just do?”

 

“I don’t know,” Soonyoung shrugged, “I wanted to see how fast I could really fly once and then that happened.”

 

“How can you even fly that fast? I couldn’t see you at all, you were just a blur,” Seokmin enquired with intrigue, still astounded.

 

“I thought everyone could fly that fast,” Soonyoung admitted, “But then I showed one of my friends and he tried to do it too but he couldn’t, so I showed a few more people and they couldn’t either. Maybe you could?”

 

Seokmin shook his head quickly, “You just saw how slow I am compared to you and you weren’t even going at top speed. You’re amazing.”

 

Soonyoung smiled gently at the compliment, “Thank you. Guess these plain old wings of mine are good for something, huh.”

 

Seokmin rolled his eyes, clearly not able to convince Soonyoung that his wings are beautiful so easily and giving up on the task for now, “Seriously though, that’s really amazing. How have you not been scouted by the army?”

 

“I’m too fast for them to catch me and ask,” Soonyoung responded with a smug grin, looking like a proud cat that finally received some attention.

 

“Is it something you do often?” Seokmin asked, referring to flying so fast that he produces the incredibly loud sound, “Because I haven’t heard a boom like that from the palace before.”

 

“I try not to do it too much,” Soonyoung explained, slowly leading Seokmin out of the clouds and back to the small hill, “It doesn’t hurt me but it’s really tiring and I can’t keep up that speed for too long,  _ especially _ after the boom. It kinda feels like I’m being flattened.”

 

“That doesn’t sound safe,” Seokmin quipped in concern.

 

“It’s fine,” Soonyoung waved him off, “If it wasn’t safe then I wouldn’t be able to do it in the first place. Also as to why you’ve never heard it before, I don’t usually do it near the Capital because I don’t want to draw too much attention to myself. I may be able to outfly the army but the royal guards are a different question.”

 

“Tell me about it,” Seokmin drawled, “I tried to escape the Palace so many times as a kid because I was sick of all the formality and I just wanted to play with all the other angels I could see flying past, but the guards would catch me before I could even leave the window. It’s  _ scary  _ how fast they are, but how fast  _ you  _ are is just beautiful.”

 

Soonyoung was smiling with a sad sort of sympathy while the Seraph told the tale of his childhood, but his expression turned into something rather shy at Seokmin’s final declaration, “Thank you, and I’m sorry you had such a sheltered childhood.”

 

“Sheltered life in general,” Seokmin corrected with no malice, “But you don’t need to apologise for that, it’s not your fault I’m a prince.”

 

“Oh shit yeah,” Soonyoung suddenly realised, “I’ve not offended you by being too informal or anything right? ...Your Highness?”

 

Seokmin snorted at the Angel’s uncertainty, “Quite the opposite, actually. I like that you’re not treating me as if I’m God’s gift to the world.”

 

“Well I mean,” Soonyoung paused as they came to a soft landing back at the top of the hill, gesturing up and down at Seokmin’s whole body, “You kinda are.”

 

Seokmin rolled his eyes and picked his cloak up, shying away from such a high compliment, “You can’t just say things like that.”

 

“Why not?” Soonyoung questioned, fluttering up to appear in front of Seokmin who had turned away while struggling to get his wings back under his cloak, “It’s the truth.”

 

“It’s your opinion,” Seokmin said matter of factly before quickly changing the topic, casting soft eyes to the rising moon, “I should probably get back to the palace.”

 

Soonyoung decided to tone down the flirting for now, figuring that Seokmin probably wasn’t used to this type of casual interaction, “Can we meet again?”

 

Seokmin finished fastening the garment at his neck and looked up at Soonyoung, eyes flashing an icy blue with his response, “I’d like to.”

 

Soonyoung nodded, feeling small under the piercing colour, “But you can’t?”

 

The hue faded with a sigh, “It took weeks to plan my being here right now without anyone knowing, but I really want to see you again.”

 

“I usually here every day to watch the sunset, I was actually on my way home when you saw me playing with those kids,” Soonyoung revealed gently, “So if you ever manage to sneak away again, I’ll be here.”

 

“Okay,” Seokmin nodded, brain already scrambling for ways to meet the Angel again, “I’ll try and come here again. You won’t get tired of waiting?”

 

Soonyoung smiled, a soft expression that made his plump cheeks look ever more round and squishy, “I have only known you for a few hours and we know almost nothing about each other, but you seem more than worth waiting for.”

 

Seokmin was unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face at the sweet words, wings stirring slightly under his cloak in something akin to an excited shake, “I won’t keep you waiting for long.”

 

“Take your time,” Soonyoung insisted, “I’m not going anywhere and you won’t be either if you get caught trying to sneak out, I presume. There’s no need to rush.”

 

“Okay,” Seokmin breathed, filled with the desire to meet Soonyoung again and get to know more about him, “I really better go.”

 

“Then go,” Soonyoung gestured to the palace, “But if you’re going to fly, why did you put your cloak back on?”

 

“I’m not going to fly, I’m going to walk.”

 

“Then how are you gonna get down this hill?”

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

Soonyoung eyed him, a mischievous glint in his white irises, “I could carry you again.”

 

“Absolutely not,” Seokmin declined strongly but couldn’t complain any further when Soonyoung dived into him, tackling them both off the side of the cliff and only spreading his wings about halfway down their long fall.

 

“You’re insane!” Seokmin shouted over the sound of rushing wind, holding onto Soonyoung’s torso for dear life while the Angel skimmed over the forest they had walked through earlier, purposefully letting Seokmin dangle into the tops of the trees.

 

Soonyoung just laughed, holding onto Seokmin around the neck loosely, making the Seraph do all the work. He stopped at the edge of the forest and brought them to the ground, laughing now at Seokmin’s windswept appearance and completely blank face when he said, “I hate you.”

 

“You loved it really, don’t lie,” Soonyoung snickered, leading Seokmin back through the field while the latter fixed his once again dishevelled appearance.

 

“I genuinely thought I was going to hit my head on a branch.”

 

“I’d never let that happen to you,” Soonyoung winked, “Don’t you trust me?”

 

Seokmin had to think about the answer to that question harder than he expected. From a young age he had been taught that trust was useless and a weakness; you can respect someone’s abilities but you should never expect that their actions will always be done in your favour. Giving someone your trust is just setting yourself up for betrayal, in the words of his father, so Seokmin didn’t understand what compelled him when he said, “Of course I do.”

 

“Then you don’t need to be scared,” Soonyoung stated, holding his hand out to Seokmin as they approached the stepping stones, the letter giving him a slightly baffled look, “I don’t want you to almost fall again.”

 

“You don’t need to remind me,” Seokmin rolled his eyes jokingly, accepting the hand that was being offered to him as Soonyoung guided them across the river slowly.

 

“It was funny,” Soonyoung huffed a laugh at the memory, halted on a rock while Seokmin precariously stepped across a wide gap, “You should’ve seen your face.”

 

“I’m glad it amused you,” Seokmin snapped playfully, no malice in his words at all.

 

“It amused me greatly,” the Angel confirmed, successfully getting them to the other side of the river without letting either of them fall in.

 

Their conversation lulled into a comfortable silence as they began to walk through the soft field, hands still clasped together and swinging between them until Seokmin suddenly realised and quickly let go, seemingly snapping Soonyoung out of it too.

 

“Sorry,” he said after Seokmin’s sudden movement, “I forgot we were still holding hands.”

 

“Me too,” Seokmin mumbled in slight confusion as he’s usually not forgetful, “I better take off here, if we get too close to the capital I risk someone seeing that I’m a Seraph.”

 

Soonyoung stopped walking and prompted Seokmin to do the same, “Yeah, we’re already pretty close.”

 

“We are,” Seokmin exhaled in a despondent sigh, “We’ll see each other again?”

 

“Definitely,” Soonyoung smiled, radiating a hopeful certainty, “I promise I’ll be waiting on the hill, and I didn’t even get to show you the waterfall so you  _ have _ to come back to see that.”

 

“You’re more than enough of a reason to come back,” Seokmin responded before his brain could proofread his thoughts and stop them from spewing out of his lips.

 

Before he could cover up his slip of the tongue, Soonyoung’s smile turned slightly shy yet his reply was delivered with confidence, “And you’re more than enough of a reason to wait. Now go quickly before someone notices that you’re not there.”

 

The Seraph was stunned into a momentary silence and nodded dumbly at the innocent declaration, shrugging his cloak off and hanging it over one arm before realising something, “I want to give you this as a more solid promise of my return.”

 

The Angel watched with intrigue as Seokmin fiddled around at the back of his own neck to unclasp and reveal a golden necklace before holding it between them and gesturing to Soonyoung, “May I?”

 

“Of course,” Soonyoung nodded quickly, looking down at the necklace as Seokmin reached around to fasten it at the back of his neck for him, “This looks important.”

 

“It is,” the Seraph revealed, not taking a step back even after securing the necklace in place, “And I have a feeling that you are too, so now I have to come back for the pair of you.”

 

Soonyoung smiled, looking down at the chain while his fingers splayed about the modest red jewels nestled in the golden links, “I’ll keep it safe.”

 

“Keep yourself safe,” Seokmin prioritised, stepping back to push off of the ground into a low hover before declaring, “See you soon.”

 

“Sooner than you think,” Soonyoung responded with that same sense of certainty, waving at Seokmin as the Seraph fluttered higher into the air and shortly disappeared in the direction of the palace.

 

Seokmin didn’t look back because he didn’t want this simple goodbye to feel like an eternal farewell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone is confused about anything in this universe then please do ask and i’ll do my best to explain!! also this is set waaaaay back so they wouldn’t know to refer to soonyoung flying that fast as “breaking the sound barrier” or call it a “sonic boom” (also they angels so let’s just say they don’t get deafened by the sound okay djksk)
> 
> I’m making these chapters shorter (~5k) than the chapters in icy incandescence (which are average 8k) so that i can hopefully update more frequently than once a month but no promises cuz ya girl leads a v intense academic life skjfs
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS THEY ARE MY LIFE FORCE AND I’LL GIVE YOU ETERNAL LOVE IN RETURN!!
> 
> ☆ [hmu on twitter! @xiiaeo](https://twitter.com/xiiaeo) ☆


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the feedback on the last chapter!! this one is p soft so i hope you like it <3
> 
> ALSO VERY IMPORTANT!!! here is some amazing artwork of [seok](https://twitter.com/thatlunarchild/status/1055200822777266177) and [soonie](https://twitter.com/thatlunarchild/status/1055580964301225984) and [wonu](https://twitter.com/thatlunarchild/status/1057957026217844736) by the lovely talented marta uwu please go give her some love!! <3

“He’s amazing,” Seokmin sighed wistfully, lying on his stomach the wrong way around on his bed, feet bent up into the air and swinging back and forth as he watched Wonwoo mill around the room, “He made sound from nothing?”

 

“So you’ve said at least nine times,” Wonwoo rolled his eyes, slotting haphazardly abandoned books back into their rightful place on the Prince’s shelf.

 

“Because it was amazing!” Seokmin reiterated, wings snapping to a close to enforce his statement, much like a venus fly trap capturing its prey before gracefully opening again as though nothing happened, “How does that  _ not _ amaze you?”

 

“Because it sounds impossible,” Wonwoo revealed, scrunching his face in confusion while wondering how Seokmin managed to get this many books littering his floor, “Did you fly into the shelf again?”

 

“Potentially,” Seokmin uttered and quickly changed the topic after Wonwoo flew up to reach the higher shelves, “I can’t believe you don’t believe me.”

 

“Of course I believe you,” Wonwoo assured, making another trip to the top tiers with his final stack of books while Seokmin reamined lamenting like a forlorn lover, “I just cannot envision what you mean by he made sound from nothing and that air pockets were made around him?”

 

“I don’t know a better way to explain it,” Seokmin whined, yelping and rolling to the side sadly when Wonwoo pinched his baby blue wing to make some space for himself, “You’d have to see it.”

 

“You really want to see him again?” Wonwoo asked, voice filled with an apprehensive worry rather than anticipation.

 

“Yeah?” Seokmin replied, sounding unsure and hoisting himself to be sat cross legged on the bed, “Is that a bad thing?”

 

Wonwoo gave him a deadpan look, “You’re Prince Lee Seokmin and he’s an Angel. Personally I don’t have a problem with it at all, but you know father wouldn’t allow it and mother wouldn’t even have a say in it.”

 

“I know,” the Seraph sighed, picking at his perfectly clean fingernails and remembering the image of his hand interlaced with Soonyoung’s only a few hours ago, “But I really like him.”

 

“Like as in friends or like as in love?” Wonwoo asked with a skeptical eyebrow raise, peering at Seokmin over the rim of circular golden specs, “Because you’ve only known him for a few hours and if you say love I might have to beat some sense into you.”

 

Seokmin laughed at the threat coming from the boy with pastel pink wings spread out behind him, “I’d like to see you try. But no, not love, at least...”

 

“Not yet?” Wonwoo filled in the end of the sentence and pursed his lips when Seokmin nodded, “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

 

“It’s definitely not a good idea,” Seokmin concurred, “But I really want to see him again, Wonwoo. I’ve never felt that at ease and free around someone before -  _ especially  _ someone I literally just met.”

 

“It would be best if you didn’t,” Wonwoo advised, “ _ But _ I’d still be willing to help you sneak out again if you’re adamant about going.”

 

Seokmin smiled as though the Cherub had just handed him the entire world, “Thank you.”

 

“Anything for my favourite brother,” Wonwoo smiled back, a playful glint in his eyes that Seokmin nearly missed.

 

“Hey! I’m your  _ only _ brother!”

 

“Aren’t I lucky?” Wonwoo drawled with a sarcastic eye roll, taking flight when Seokmin tried to swat him with his wing, “No need for violence.”

 

“No need to be an ass,” the Seraph bit back with mirth while Wonwoo dropped back down onto the bed.

 

“About Soonyoung...You didn’t tell him who you are, right?”

 

Seokmin’s reluctance to answer informed Wonwoo of the answer loud and clear.

 

“You did.”

 

“I did,” Seokmin sighed, slightly disappointed in himself, “I showed him my wings...and my eyes.”

 

“You idiot,” Wonwoo grumbled, rubbing a hand up the side of his face and under his glasses, the specs dropping back onto the bridge of his nose after he completed the stressed action, “He could’ve killed you.”

 

“He had plenty of opportunities to kill me,” Seokmin said pointedly, referring back to the tale he told Wonwoo of Soonyoung carrying him around, “He could’ve dropped me.”

 

“Good point, but you’re still an idiot.”

 

“That’s fair,” Seokmin shrugged before rambling on about Soonyoung for the nth time, “He’s just so beautiful and pure? He looks pure and innocent, I mean he’s probably far from it, but he  _ looks _ so virtuous.”

 

“So you’ve said,” Wonwoo sighed in dismay, “You’ve been home for hours and you’ve not stopped talking about him.”

 

Seokmin ignored the complaint, “Because he’s amazing. Did I tell you that he was playing with some kids too? He’s even good with kids, what can’t he do?”

 

The door to Seokmin’s bedroom opened abruptly and the Prince could judge by the way Wonwoo shot to his feet that their father had entered the room, so he followed suit. The brothers stood next to each other, Seokmin slightly further forward, while the King waited for the door to be closed behind him, “Where have you two been?”

 

“In this room?” Seokmin responded instantly as though this was a trick question.   
  


“Someone reported seeing a Seraph flying over the Capital,” the King explained, scrutinising Seokmin with eyes that have not lost their sharpness, “You’re the only one not accounted for.”

 

“He’s been here with me the whole time, Your Majesty,” Wonwoo lied easily, the forced formality of his words making Seokmin grimace internally even after all these years.

 

“Is this true?”

 

“Yes, father,” Seokmin aided the lie, “We were sorting out the books on my shelves and we had just finished before you came in.”

 

A pregnant pause filled the room, to which Wonwoo offered, “Perhaps an Angel dyed their wings?”

 

“That is a possibility,” the King confirmed, voice slightly higher in realisation, “I shall have someone look into it.”

 

With that he left the room, white robes trailing behind him until they disappeared around the corner with the soft click of the door closing pulling the princes out of their bows. Seokmin released a heavy breath of relief and sat onto the bed, flopping back onto the mattress, “Fuck.”

 

“This  _ really _ isn’t a good idea,” Wonwoo enforced his earlier statement, stood next to the bed looking down at the other, “And now they’re going to be a lookout for an Angel with false blue wings, which means if you go out then there’s an even higher chance of them spotting you.”

 

“What if I dye my wings white?”

 

“Absolutely not!” Wonwoo exclaimed, his own wings stretching in outrage at such a suggestion, “We discovered that dying feathers damages them ages ago. Moreover, everyone who works for the King knows what you look like anyway, it would be completely pointless.”

 

Seokmin sighed, sitting up on the bed while Wonwoo took a seat next to him, “I just want to see him again, is that too much to ask?”

 

“Yeah,” Wonwoo said in a humourless huff, “But we can make something work, like we did today.”

 

“It took us  _ months _ to plan today!” Seokmin retorted in exasperation, throwing his hands up for dramatic effect.

 

“And look at what you got out of all those months of planning,” Wonwoo chided, “You met Soonyoung. You said he’d wait for you at the hill, right? I think he’ll survive a month or so without seeing your ugly face.”

 

What started out as a speech of endearment ended in a friendly jab at the Seraph, who in turn launched himself at his adoptive brother and the two rolled around in a playful brawl; numerous small feathers fluttering to the ground in their wake.

 

**━ᕕ━**

 

Soonyoung was sat on Jihoon’s bed while the other was slaving away at some design drawings on his desk. Knowing that Jihoon would probably assault him if he interrupted his work, Soonyoung remained patiently perched on the soft surface, waiting for the moment Jihoon would address his presence.

 

The Dominion turned in his chair to face Soonyoung, spinning a thin calligraphy brush between his fingers, “This better be life-threatening or I will actually snap your wing.”

 

Soonyoung spat the words out quickly to ensure Jihoon wouldn’t decide he wasn’t ready to talk to him yet, “I met Prince Seokmin!”

 

“That’s not life-threatening,” Jihoon did the come hither gesture, “Gimme your wing.”

 

“I met  _ the _ Prince Seokmin!” Soonyoung exclaimed in exasperation, “How are you not freaking out?”

 

Jihoon shrugged, turning back to his desk and almost (purposefully) knocking Soonyoung off of the bed with a purple wing, “I’ve met him a few times.”

 

Soonyoung almost choked on his inhale, “You’ve  _ what?” _

 

“Seen him _ in passing _ ,” Jihoon quickly corrected himself, “I didn’t actually speak to him but I’ve seen him before. They need me to make stuff for them sometimes.”

 

“And you didn’t tell me?” Soonyoung enquired, fluttering to sit on Jihoon’s desk in pitious betrayal, “Your best friend?”

 

“Confidentiality agreement,” Jihoon revealed, “But since you told me you met him I figured I may as well tell you now too, since you probably had to sign one as well.”

 

“No? I met him in a field and took him to the hill.”

 

“He was just wandering around in the Capital?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“With no guards?”

 

“Not that I know of? I’m pretty certain that he snuck out,” Soonyoung divulged, “But please don’t tell anyone I told you this.”

 

Jihoon gave him a blank face, “I’ve kept the secret that I make weapons for them from you for years, I think I can keep this one too.”

 

“For  _ years _ ?” Soonyoung reiterated with a conflicted sadness, wings sagging, “I know that you legally weren’t allowed to tell me but you still could’ve told me.”

 

“I didn’t want to risk my job or my life  _ or _ your life.”

 

“My life?”

 

Jihoon sighed, “They might weaponise you if they find out about your ability, Soonyoung.”

 

“Oh,” Soonyoung blinked, “Would that be such a bad thing? To protect my people from war?”

 

“You’re not a soldier,” Jihoon pointed out, “Even if you were, you would be entirely expendable to them and I won’t tolerate that. You don’t even know how to use your own ability for an extended period of time because you said it hurts your wings.”

 

“It does,” Soonyoung concurred, “I tried to fly through the first boom to create another boom but it felt like someone was ripping my wings off so I stopped.”

 

“Well, don’t try that again,” Jihoon quipped, returning to his drawings and trying not to sound concerned.

 

Soonyoung cast his eyes around the room sheepishly, “Hypothetically speaking, what if I just  _ happened _ to show my ability to Seokmin earlier?”

 

“You idiot,” Jihoon signed, not even bothering to reprimand the other for it, “What if he tells someone and they come looking for you?”

 

“I don’t think he will,” Soonyoung hoped, “Since he wasn’t meant to be out of the palace anyway, if he told someone he’d give himself away.”

 

“I doubt that he could get out of the palace without being noticed  _ alone _ ,” Jihoon stated, “Chances are that he’s told Prince Wonwoo.”

 

“Why him, of all people?” Soonyoung enquired with furrowed brows.

 

Jihoon sighed in anguish, “I really shouldn’t be telling you any of this. I could actually be killed for it.”

 

“Jihoon,” the Angel gave him a straight-faced look, “It’s not like I have many other friends to tell this to anyway.”

 

“Point taken,” Jihoon nodded curtly, “Well, you know that Prince Wonwoo is adopted, right?”

 

“Of course. He’s a Cherub, isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah, he is. Do you know what that means for him in the palace?”

 

Soonyoung hummed dumbly in thought and looked around the room as if the answer would be written on the wall somewhere, “No?

 

“He’s treated just like any other Cherub,” Jihoon revealed, “Obviously he’s still highly respected by anyone frequenting the palace, and if he were to leave the palace he would be well-received by the people, but the Seraphim treat him as a lesser being.”

 

“How so?” Soonyoung enquired with internal anger, not one to stand by while injustice takes place.

 

“It’s mainly the King, his brothers and just the extended family in general who treat him like this, so don’t let this ruin your opinion of Prince Seokmin.”

 

“Jihoon, just tell me how they treat him.”

 

“Like he doesn’t exist,” Jihoon stated simply, “There have been numerous occasions where I’ve been in the throne room while the King has given me orders. The King sits in the throne, the Queen and Prince Seokmin sit either side in lower chairs, and Prince Wonwoo isn’t allowed in the throne room.”

 

“Why?” Soonyoung demanded.

 

“The King doesn’t see Prince Wonwoo as a Prince at all. Prince Wonwoo talks to the King with the utmost respect like any other citizen would do, and very unlike Prince Seokmin who isn’t afraid to challenge his father’s words from time to time,” Jihoon explained the observations he’d made after visiting the palace so often, “I’m guessing that it was the Queen who adopted Prince Wonwoo, but he seems the most calm with he’s with Prince Seokmin.”

 

Soonyoung was scowling down at his own lap, “I heard that Prince Wonwoo is older than Prince Seokmin, shouldn’t he be Crown Prince?”

 

“He is, and he should be, and he  _ would _ be if only his wings were blue,” Jihoon shrugged with practiced indifference. 

 

“That’s fucked up,” Soonyoung scrunched his nose in disgust, “Does he have anyone to talk to besides the Queen and Prince Seokmin?”

 

“Not that I’m aware of but it’s not like I actually know him,” Jihoon reminded the other, “All the palace guards don’t see him as someone they should protect though, since their loyalty is sworn to the Seraphim.”

 

“Why doesn’t he just leave?” Soonyoung asked mostly rhetorically, stating his own intentions if he were in the Prince’s place.

 

Jihoon shrugged, “Not allowed? I wouldn’t know. Why don’t you ask Prince Seokmin, since he’s your new best friend.”

 

“Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your tone?” Soonyoung teased as Jihoon’s wings curled in slightly.

 

“As if,” Jihoon rolled his eyes, gesturing around the room of scattered papers that were all perfectly placed before Soonyoung came barreling through the window, “It’s about time you made some other friends instead of trashing my workspace, though starting with Prince Seokmin is something I never would’ve seen coming.”

 

“You’d be sad if I was gone, don’t lie,” Soonyoung chided, legs swinging gleefully from his perch on the bed, “If I told you I was going to meet Prince Seokmin again, you’d say…?”

 

“That you’re an idiot,” Jihoon finished annotating the edge of a diagram before turning to direct his speech at Soonyoung, “But there’s nothing new there then, is there?”

 

“Hilarious,” Soonyoung shook his head, smiling despite the slander at seeing Jihoon take amusement in his own words, “Seriously though, I want to meet him again.”

 

“Look,” Jihoon began, putting his thin paintbrush down to devote his full attention to the Angel, “I can’t stop you from doing anything stupid because I’m too busy here, but if you’re really going to meet him again and you’ve arranged it then you better let me know now so I can come collect your corpse when the guards find out.”

 

Soonyoung rolled his eyes at the pessimistic turn, “You won’t be collecting my corpse any time soon. We arranged to meet at the hill near the waterfall. I’m going to wait there at the same time as we were there today  _ every day _ until he can manage to get out of the palace again.”

 

“You’re going to sit there at sunset, every single day, in hopes that he’ll manage to leave the palace at some point?”

 

Soonyoung nodded, “That’s the plan.”

 

“And how long before you give up wasting your time sat there waiting for the damn  _ Crown Prince of Heaven _ to show up?”

 

“As long as it takes,” Soonyoung shrugged, pulling the golden chain out from where it was hidden under his shirt, “He gave me this as a promise that he’d come collect it.”

 

Jihoon got up and walked go stand in front of seated Soonyoung, the pair now the same height thanks to Jihoon’s raised bed. The Dominion took the necklace into his own hands gently without tugging on it, scrutinising the red jewels that were a blatant staple of royalty, “He trusts you this much already?”

 

“I guess,” Soonyoung shrugged dismissively despite feeling an inner happiness at the words, eyes on where Jihoon was turning the necklace over between his fingertips, “I felt really comfortable around him even after knowing that he’s a prince, honestly I don’t know how I wasn’t freaking out the whole time.”

 

“You must just click with each other,” Jihoon concluded, letting the necklace drop back against Soonyoung’s chest before returning to his desk chair, “If I were you I’d not let the necklace be visible though, someone might steal it or accuse you of stealing it.”

 

“I know, I won’t,” Soonyoung promised, tucking the chain back into his shirt safely before sighing whimsically, “He’s so beautiful.”

 

“I’m aware,” Jihoon responded flatly, more interested in his sketches.

 

“How can you not react more than that,” Soonyoung whined, moving to lie on his side facing the other, “I could write a whole book about the structure of his face.”

 

“You have major issues,” Jihoon chided, mildly amused by the offended noise that escaped the Angel at the accusation.

 

“I’m just not in denial,” Soonyoung defended himself.

 

“You’ve just not seen the Army General yet,” Jihoon stated, implying his own preference.

 

“I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to be more beautiful than Prince Seokmin,” Soonyoung challenged.

 

“Beauty is subjective,” Jihoon declared, “Personally, I can see that Prince Seokmin is beautiful but I’m not attracted to him.”

 

“And who said that  _ I _ am?”

 

Jihoon stared him down, “You’re going to sit on a hill every single day in hopes that he will return. If that doesn’t scream gay tragedy to you, I don’t know what will.”

 

“Maybe we’re just really good friends,” Soonyoung trailed off, wings twitching where they lay on the bed behind him.

 

“Uh huh,” Jihoon hummed in blatant disbelief, sarcasm leaking through his every syllable, “And I’d love to be just  _ really good friends _ with the Army General.”

 

“Who even is the Army General?” Soonyoung enquired, trying to pry into his friend’s love life to have something to tease him about.

 

“I doubt you’ve ever seen him before.”

 

“I’ve met a prince, so you’d be surprised.”

 

“You don’t need to know.”

 

“Stop being so defensive,” Soonyoung drawled in a yawn, “You need to talk about something other than weaponry for once.”

 

“General Choi,” Jihoon caved slightly, giving away half of the puzzle.

 

“Choi…?” Soonyoung insisted.

 

Jihoon sighed, “Seungcheol.”

 

“I’ve definitely heard that name,” Soonyoung realised while casually slipping his shoes off with his feet and manoeuvering under the blanket, “Why have I heard that name?”

 

“He  _ is  _ the head of the Army. He’s not exactly a nobody,” Jihoon pointed out, striking a match against its box to light the large candle living at the back corner of his desk; the night settling in suddenly and bringing fatigue with it.

 

Now wrapped up in blankets, warm and content, Soonyoung yawned yet again, “I guess you’re right.”

 

“Hey, that’s  _ my  _ bed,” Jihoon scolded, looking away from his work to find Soonyoung curled up comfortably with his eyes closed and still being amazed at the Angel’s ability to just fall into slumber within seconds.

 

“You won’t sleep anyway,” Soonyoung mumbled, insinuating that the other would remain working all night, “I’ll tell you more about Prince Seokmin when I wake up.”

 

Jihoon hummed, unable to argue back since he was right, “Okay, but if I wake you up while working don’t get annoyed.”

 

“I won’t,” Soonyoung barely voiced, lips too tired to form the syllables correctly, “G’night.”

 

“Goodnight, Soonyoung.”

 

**_━Two Weeks Later━_ **

 

“Seokmin!” Wonwoo yelled, barging into his brother’s room in the light of dawn, “Wake up!”

 

The younger groaned in his slumber, rolling away from the noise and scrunching his face now that he was facing the window. Wonwoo continued to call his name and shake the other by the shoulders, but the Seraph seemed intent to sleep a while longer. The elder sighed and stood up from where he had perched on Seokmin’s bed, “Fine. I guess you don’t want to see Soonyoung then.”

 

A slender hand curled around Wonwoo’s wrist instantly and icy blue eyes peered up at him, suddenly fully alert, “Where is he?”

 

“Wherever he lives,” Wonwoo replied, eyes flashing pink instinctively, “But you can go and meet him today if you’ll stop being grouchy and listen to me.”

 

Seokmin sat up as he pulled Wonwoo to sit on the bed, deadly serious about the matter, “Explain.”

 

Wonwoo looked away from Seokmin’s blue irises and down to where the other was still holding him by the wrist, strong grip having Wonwoo’s pulse beat hard against the Seraph’s hand, “Could you let go first?”

 

“Sorry,” Seokmin snapped out of it, releasing his grip while the colour faded from his eyes and he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration, “Shit, sorry.”

 

“It’s okay,” Wonwoo ensured, “I know you don’t mean to do it.”

 

“I’m still sorry,” Seokmin insisted, knowing that Wonwoo hates being unable to act and think for himself but also hates disappointing people. 

 

Having an angel higher in society pull rank on you meant you were unable to directly deny their requests and felt a deep sense of subservience; something that a Seraph will never experience due to being at the top of the hierarchy.

 

“You didn’t mean it. No harm done,” Wonwoo argued before changing the topic swiftly, “The King is going on an overnight journey to meet the King of Hell tomorrow.”

 

“So suddenly?”

 

“There’s conflict between the demons and humans,” Wonwoo explained simply, “Your father is going to try and negotiate with the demons.”

 

“Are we not to go with him?” Seokmin enquired, eyebrows furrowed in confusion while he got out of bed and stretched his dormant limbs.

 

“Of course  _ I  _ wouldn’t be going, but I asked mother about you and she said that you are to stay here too. The Prince of Hell is apparently unable to attend so the Kings decided to keep it between themselves for now.”

 

Seokmin nodded in understanding while patting his feathers back into place, “How is mother doing?”

 

“Same as usual,” Wonwoo shrugged, “She misses you.”

 

The Seraph sighed, dragging himself over to his wardrobe to begin draping garments over himself, “When was the last time I spoke to her?”

 

“The fact that you can’t even remember that means it’s been too long,” Wonwoo supplied softly, fully aware of all the duties Seokmin has to attend to on a daily basis.

 

“Is she free now?”

 

“When is she not free?”

 

“Good point,” Seokmin realised with a piteous smile, “Has father departed yet?”

 

“By now, yes.”

 

“Then I shall go speak to mother,” Seokmin declared, now decked out in robes of white and gold, “You have a way for me to meet Soonyoung?”

 

“I do,” Wonwoo nodded, “But go and see mother first, I’ll wait here.”

 

Seokmin took his brother’s advice and left the room after freshening up some more; fluttering along the marble corridors and down several stories to reach the floor wherein his mother resides.

 

The Queen does not live at the bottom of the palace but she is by no means addressed in the same manner as the King. No gender imbalance is at play here, just class prejudice based upon the fact that the Queen is a Cherub and is therefore lower down in society than the King and Prince Seokmin.

 

The mentioned prince thought that it was stupid for his mother to have to live separately to his father and could never quite imagine the pair to be in love at all. A Seraph may marry a Cherub or a Throne but no angel lower than that, yet no matter who they marry their offspring will be a Seraph, so why does it matter?

 

Seokmin entered his mother’s room with these thoughts swirling around his head yet again and she noticed his furrowed brows, “What’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, mother,” Seokmin assured her in an equally gentle voice, gladly accepting the embrace that was extended to him, “Just thinking.”

 

“About time you started doing that,” she quipped playfully while pulling out of the embrace, Seokmin swatting her wing with his own in retaliation, “Hey!”

 

“You started it,” he shrugged, the pair of them laughing with matching smiles until Seokmin sighed, turning more solemn, “I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you more.”

 

The Prince took in his mother’s appearance properly for the first time during the encounter; first noticing that she looks healthy and happy enough. Her deep brown hair still stops midway down her back but is beginning to grey around the roots, the odd strand looking like a sliver of light has been weaved into her locks. She is wearing robes much similar to Seokmin’s but with less complexity to their design.

 

“Don’t worry about it. I know you’re busy,” his mother replied, taking his hands and leading him to sit on a nearby window ledge, “How are things going?”

 

Seokmin sighed, “I don’t think I’m capable of being a good king.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

“I can’t make tough decisions on a moment’s notice and I just don’t know how to rule.”

 

His mother rolled her eyes fondly, “You have a whole counsel of people who will advise you on everything.”

 

“Yeah but  _ I’m  _ still the one making the final decision,” Seokmin complained with a pout.

 

“And you’ll learn that you can’t please everyone, Seokmin, that’s just not how the world works,” the Queen reminded him gently.

 

“Unfortunately,” Seokmin sighed again while casting his gaze out of the window, still loosely holding onto his mother’s hands where they rested in the space between their almost adjacent knees.

 

“Who is he?”

 

Seokmin raised a brow and looked back to his mother, “Who is who?”

 

“The boy you’re going to meet,” she revealed with a knowing smile, revelling in the panic written across her son’s features, “Who is he?”

 

“Soonyoung,” the Seraph revealed almost instantly, unwilling to lie to his mother, “How did you know?”

 

“Mother’s intuition.”

 

Seokmin looked at her with his head cocked to the side in disbelief, waiting for the actual answer to be revealed to him.

 

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes, “Wonwoo told me  _ but _ don’t be mad at him. He was really worried about you and asked for advice.”

 

“I’m not mad at him,” Seokmin assured, “I would’ve told you myself at some point anyway, but I would’ve appreciated it if he just spoke to me directly.”

 

“He didn’t want to upset you with his own turmoil,” the Queen explained, “He didn’t think that you sneaking out to see Soonyoung again was a good idea but he saw how happy it had made you after only meeting with the Angel once so he didn’t want to take that away from you.”

 

Seokmin nodded in understanding, “I’ll talk to him about it later. You’re not...mad that Soonyoung is an Angel?”

 

She scoffed in mock offence, “Yes, how dare my son fraternise with a lowly Angel? He ought to be hanged, for Heaven’s sake!”

 

The duo laughed, loud melodies that bounced around the marble surfaces with no mercy before the Queen continued, “You know I don’t care for classes, Seokmin, that’s the reason you don’t either.”

 

Seokmin had to agree with his mother on that one, for if he had been raised by mainly his father instead he may not be anywhere near as benevolent as he is today, “I just wish that father also didn’t care about it.”

 

His mother hummed, looking up from the warmth of his hands and noticing the lack of a gold chain around his neck, “Where’s the necklace?”

 

Seokmin avoided her gaze for a few seconds and when their eyes did meet it was with a sheepish look.

 

“You gave it to him?” she sounded surprised, “Seokmin, if he loses it--”

 

“He won’t,” the Seraph ensured and then smiled, “I think it suits him.”

 

The Queen nodded, lost in sudden thought, “As long as he makes you happy.”

 

“He does,” Seokmin confirmed, “I felt very at peace with him.”

 

“Then go and see him,” she voiced gently but in a final tone, Seokmin nodding and giving her a brief hug. 

 

“I promise I’ll come and see you more often,” Seokmin declared after they pulled out of the embrace.

 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” his mother scolded gently, aware that it’s not the Seraph's choice to barely see her and that he is usually occupied with a multitude of tasks as Crown Prince.

 

“I intend to keep this one,” Seokmin responded, equally as gentle, before sharing a small smile with his mother and walking away, taking flight one he reached the hollow centre of the living chambers to fly up to his own room.

 

Wonwoo was hovering high up next to the bookshelf and fluttered down to Seokmin upon his entry, “How’d it go?”

 

“I feel so bad for not seeing her more often,” Seokmin pouted, walking to sit on his bed with his blue wings sagging behind him.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Wonwoo soothed, taking a seat next to his brother, “If I were allowed to do some of your duties and aid you as Crown Prince then you would have more time to see her.”

 

“If father and everyone else in this palace valued people for their worth rather than the colour of their wings then I’d have a  _ lot _ more time because you would be Crown Prince,” Seokmin pointed out, not allowing the other to interject while he continued, “You are far more worthy of becoming King than I am. I don’t care for all of these formalities and it takes  _ you _ explaining the politics to me several times before I can grasp it.”

 

Wonwoo shook his head, “You’ll be a great King, Seokmin, the first one to try and abolish the hierarchy. Your only flaw is that you might be too benevolent.”

 

Seokmin made a noise between a scoff and a sigh, leaning his elbows onto his knees and resting his face in his hands, “Let’s just not think about this for now, it’s still a long way off. What plan do you have about Soonyoung?”

 

“Well,” Wonwoo began, pushing himself off of the bed to pace around as he spoke, “Since the King is gone there is understandably a rise in security around the palace, and particularly for aerial threats, so you flying out of here is out of the question.”

 

“But,” Wonwoo continued, cutting off Seokmin’s inhale, “I spoke to Archangel Mingyu and he’s agreed to get you out of the palace unseen.”

 

“How? And why would you trust him?” Seokmin demanded, wings flaring slightly.

 

“I’ve been friends with him for a long time. I can’t  _ only _ hang out with you,” Wonwoo chided fondly, “He’s the one in charge of overseeing everything that comes into and is sent out of the palace; he does inventory.”

 

“Ah,” Seokmin voiced with sudden remembrance, “Is he the infamous Archangel Mingyu who breaks and then fixes at least one priceless artifact a week?”

 

“That’s him,” Wonwoo confirmed with a wry smile, “Don’t ask how he ended up in charge of inventory because I have no idea. But anyway, there’s a cart taking some damaged weaponry to the blacksmiths for repair in a few hours and Mingyu said he’d be able to sneak you on.”

 

“Wonderful, but how and when will I get back?”

 

“ _ How _ is something you’re gonna have to figure out yourself,” Wonwoo revealed, ceasing his pacing to take a seat back next to the other, “Because  _ when _ depends on when you decide to return  _ tomorrow _ .”

 

Seokmin’s eyes widened, “Tomorrow?”

 

“The King won’t be back until late tomorrow night and until his return all of your official duties have been postponed, because you know he has to be there with you. So you’re free to spend all of today and tomorrow with Soonyoung.”

 

The smile that bloomed on Seokmin’s face would put the rising sun to shame with its brightness, “Seriously?”

 

“Seriously,” Wonwoo assured, a small smile gracing his own features in response to the other’s happiness, “I’ve made plans to cover for you if people request to see you, but I won’t bore you with those.”

 

“Thank you so much,” Seokmin exhaled, deflating with gratitude as he wrapped the other in a loving hug, “You’re the best brother ever.”

 

Wonwoo shook his head, fluffy hair tickling Seokmin’s ear in the embrace, “How can I be if you already hold that title?”

 

Seokmin’s smile widened, the small wrinkles around his eyes deepening with a warm fondness as they pulled out of the embrace, “It’s debatable.”

 

Wonwoo hummed, concluding the topic at hand, and then glanced out of the window to the morning sun, “You still have a lot of time before the delivery to the blacksmiths will be made, what do you say we go spend some time with mother?”

 

“I’d love to,” Seokmin stated dreamily, standing up with his brother as they continued their conversation while leaving the room, “I could barely remember the last time I saw her before today but I genuinely can’t remember the last time the three of us gathered.”

 

“It’s been over a year,” Wonwoo revealed, walking ahead of Seokmin with his wings sagging slightly in sadness, “Aside from formal occasions, the last time we just sat down to talk together was definitely at least a year ago.”

 

“I’m sorry,” the Seraph spoke with sincerity, stopping next to his brother at the end of the ledge outside his room, “I know I’m busy but that doesn’t exactly give me an excuse to not make time for you both.”

 

“It absolutely does,” Wonwoo countered, wings flared ready for flight relaxing behind him as he turned to face the other head-on, “You’re preparing to rule  _ Heaven _ , Seokmin, not just a province but the whole of Heaven. Mother and I have our own duties to attend to and sometimes they overlap with your freetime and vice versa, it’s not your fault.”

 

“I know,” Seokmin smiled half-heartedly in reassurance, “It’s just sad that the last time I spoke to my brother and mother about _norm_ al things like _normal_ families do was over a year ago.”

 

“Well,” Wonwoo began, gently taking Seokmin’s hand and facing the ledge again to the hollow centre of their chambers, “We’re not your average family, but let’s stop brooding over that and go spend a good few hours with mother while we have the chance to, yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” Seokmin nodded, showing a slightly more encouraging smile before giving Wonwoo’s hand a squeeze and then letting go to fly down a few floors to his mother’s chambers.

 

She smiled upon his sudden, unexpected return, and was positively elated after seeing a set of pink wings poking out from behind baby blue ones. The trio sat around a small circular table lit by only the light of the morning sun, sharing trivial tales from playful sibling rivalry to the newest blooms in the palace garden.

 

A sole warmth was shared between the three of them as they voiced their accomplishments, failures, regrets and concerns before moving on to teasing Seokmin about his Angel. The usually boisterous Seraph became bashful at their enquiries and reminded them that he has only met the Angel  _ once _ . 

 

Wonwoo then took to exposing Seokmin to their mother by explaining how a day hasn’t yet passed where Seokmin has neglected to speak of Soonyoung. She laughed and asked about the plan for meeting the Angel later in the day, even offering a way for Seokmin to sneak back into the palace tomorrow night.

 

“There’s a tree in the fields to the east of the palace surrounded by bushels of yellow acacia,” she had divulged in a hushed tone as though they were being listened in on, “If you come in from a wide enough angle to the tree, fly straight up and then directly to the roof of the palace, no guards will see you.”

 

“It’s a blind spot?” Wonwoo had enquired, seemingly intent to catalogue this information too. 

 

The Queen nodded and joked that they must keep it a secret, as if they wouldn’t, before switching the topic of conversation onto Wonwoo. Their conversation consisted of the moderate dissection of books they had both read, characters the hated and authors they’d love to meet versus those whom they think should never have touched a quill. 

 

Seokmin watched this conversation with idle fondness, not having enough time to read anywhere near the amount of books that they do yet glad to see them bonding over fictional tales. On the odd occasion he could offer some input, Wonwoo having ranted to him about that topic before or himself having read that particular book, but for the majority of the time he was content only to watch.

 

**━ᕕ━**

 

Seokmin took his leave after assuring the other two repeatedly that he would stay safe and out of trouble, promising to return home unscathed. The trio shared a tight group hug, their mother’s face buried into both of their chests due to her shorter stature, prompting her to once again joke about her old age.

 

While walking into a smooth flight, Seokmin overheard Wonwoo convincing her that she was still young and beautiful and smiled at the sentiment. He took off at a faster speed along several corridors to reach the large room that housed both incoming and outcoming deliveries, roof over 200 ft up with storage holes along all the walls.

 

After spotting him hovering in the room, various workers gave him confused stares but bowed nonetheless to their Crown Prince; Seokmin nodding in return as he is unable to bow while in flight. 

 

He spotted Archangel Mingyu flying around near the ground like a bat out of Hell and deduced that it was no wonder he caused so much damage with those big grey wings of his whacking into everything as he navigated the loading area. Seokmin fluttered down to ground level in the path of where Mingyu was flying to and fro and waited for the other to slam to a stop in front of him, which he did with as little finesse as expected.

 

“Crown Prince Seokmin?” Mingyu questioned before shaking his head and bowing instantly, Seokmin inwardly not liking the gesture but remaining silent while Mingyu straightened back up, “What are you doing here?”

 

The Seraph panicked for a moment and wondered if he had somehow got the wrong Mingyu with the question that was directed at him, but after a discrete knowing wink from the Archangel he knew the other was just conscious of prying eyes and ears, “Just here to check on things.”

 

“Ah, I can show you around if you’d like?”

 

“That would be nice,” Seokmin smiled.

 

Mingyu turned around to face the majority of the room, sticking his fingers into his mouth to produce a loud whistle before declaring, “Break time! If you aren’t back here in less than ten minutes then I’ll put you on flight patrol!”

 

The plethora of coloured wings emptied the room at an alarmingly fast rate but Mingyu shrugged at Seokmin’s wide eyed stare, “They’re just happy to take any break that they can get. Good pay but hard work, and no one wants to be on flight patrol delivering letters all over Heaven just with your own wings for transport.”

 

Seokmin nodded in silence, now completely understanding why the workers would try to get the most out of their break and avoid being late back.

 

“So,” Mingyu punctuated, gesturing for Seokmin to follow him to a nearby cart, “I presume that Wonwoo’s told you this is going to the blacksmiths at the edge of the Capital?”

 

“Yeah, he has.”

 

“There’s been a  _ slight _ change of plan,” Mingyu revealed with a sheepish smile, “It will make a few stops on the way to deliver some letters, but they will be with the shotgun rider so it won’t affect you.”

 

“Could I get out at one of these stops?”

 

“Yeah?” Mingyu shrugged while opening the wooden door to the back of the cart, “It would be very risky though, you’d have to be quick.”

 

“This whole thing is risky,” Seokmin pointed out, peering into the cart filled with organised mounds of broken weaponry, “Do you have a cloak or shawl I could wear?”

 

“Of course,” Mingyu excused himself for a second, disappearing around the side of the cart and appearing with a hooded cloak.

 

“Thank you,” Seokmin accepted the garment, fastening it around his neck and pulling the hood up, “Thank you for all of this.”

 

“It’s no problem, Your Highness.”

 

Seokmin  _ still  _ wasn’t sure how he felt about being called that but he smiled gratefully at the other before stepping up into the cart and situating himself in corner, “Will I be able to open the cart from the inside?”

 

“I’ll make sure it’s unlocked for you,” Mingyu promised with a secretive smile.

 

Seokmin sighed in relief, “Thank you.”

 

“It’s honestly no problem. Oh, also, Wonwoo told me there isn’t a return plan for tomorrow so if you need a way back in through the postal system then find the orphanage in town and speak to Jeonghan, one of the owners. He used to have my job before he quit so I’m sure he’ll be able to sneak you back in somehow, he’s very clever.”

 

“Seriously, thank you so much,” Seokmin said with slightly furrowed brows, as if worried that he wasn’t expressing the overflowing gratitude he felt in his chest well enough.

 

“You’re very welcome, Your Highness,” Mingyu assured, coming to a lean on the wooden door to the back of the cart, “I’ll shut this now so no one thinks its still waiting to be loaded, and wish you safe travels.”

 

“Thank you,” Seokmin uttered once again as the door shut, feeling like his appreciation was becoming redundant at this point.

 

Mingyu just smiled through the small crack still left until he closed it entirely, leaving Seokmin sat in the dark with piles of neglected weapons accompanying him in the oak cart. He drew his knees up to his chest, resting his chin atop them while sighing, wondering what brought him to this moment. 

 

When Soonyoung popped into his mind, it all seemed worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please leave feedback!! kudos are very much appreciated but comments make my day!! they're what motivate me to write more :D tell me what you liked, your favourite parts, what you think or whether you hate the king as much as i do skjdnf write me a whole essay or a few words, but i promise you i'll be over the moon to receive your comment <3
> 
> ☆ [hmu on twitter! @xiiaeo](https://twitter.com/xiiaeo) ☆


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i got me some motivation to write and here is the result lmao if you know why i'm on haitus then you know my life is pretty shit atm and if you don't know or don't follow me on twitter you can find out why i'm on haitus in the first place on my pinned
> 
> i'm not abandoning any of my stories so don't worry <3 i'm just taking time for me and writing when i feel like it so that my hobby doesn't become a chore :)
> 
> thank you to all of you for being patient and understanding and sending me love, i love you all <333
> 
> NOW enjoy some gay angel boyos being cute >>>>
> 
> !! also for some reason copy pasting from google docs no longer does double spacing between paragraphs so ye that's why it looks different !!

It had hit Seokmin about halfway along his rickety journey that Soonyoung would only be at the hill at sunset waiting for him, and that he himself would have to wait for Soonyoung to appear. Not one part of Seokmin doubted that the Angel would be there and he snuck out of the cart when it came to a stop to deliver some letters with high hopes; the Seraph peering through a hole in the wood to ensure that no one was around in the more desolate part of the Capital before launching himself out quietly and walking along the road casually, as if he had just exited his own house.

Either no one saw him or no one said anything as he journeyed along the dirt road, heading away from the palace and towards the hill with his cloak pulled around himself tightly. It didn’t take long for him to end up traipsing along the road where he had first seen Soonyoung playing with three young angels, this then leading him into the fields of green and through the thick forest that the Angel had navigated for him.

Seokmin remembered the way to the cliffside despite having spent most of his first time passing through staring at Soonyoung and not creating a mental list of directions. He looked up at the sheer cliffside and debated whether to fly up himself or walk around to the hillside. He decided on the latter, figuring that some exercise was more worthwhile than risking someone seeing a flash of blue ascending the cliffside.

The Seraph walked along the edge of the cliff until it eventually moulded into a hill on the other side, steep but not vertical enough to require flight. Seokmin hiked up the hill at a steady pace, enjoying looking out over the forest and the Capital on his way up.

Once at the top, Seokmin expected to have a clear view of the palace like last time and was most certainly not expecting Soonyoung to be sat there already.

His white wings curled around him as a subsconscious way to block the afternoon breeze and serve as a sunblock. His legs hung over the cliffside, bent at the knees against the ledge and making Seokmin worry needlessly considering that they can both fly. The Seraph pondered on whether to sneak up and scare the Angel but decided against the idea, not really wanting the other to fall off of the cliff in shock even if he can fly, “Hey.”

Soonyoung turned his head at the gentle voice carried to him on the wind, eyes widening in shock as he propelled himself to be standing while Seokmin walked closer and lowered his hood, “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here,” Seokmin smiled, now standing before the other, “I told you I’d come back.”

“And I believed you wholeheartedly,” Soonyoung responded, warmth spreading through Seokmin’s chest at the words, “I just didn’t think you’d be here so soon.”

“An opportunity came up,” Seokmin explained, lost in the light shining in the Angel’s eyes, “Why are you here so early?”

Soonyoung shrugged, casting a glance back at the Capital before turning his attention back to Seokmin while speaking, “I didn’t have anything to do today so I came here to relax, it’s a good job I did otherwise you would’ve been sat here by yourself.”

“Hardly much to ask of me when that’s what you’ve been doing for weeks.”

“Worth it,” Soonyoung smiled, lowering himself to sit down in the grass as Seokmin did, “How have you been?”

“Alright,” Seokmin shrugged, “Very busy, tired, the usual. Not that I think you’ve lost it but I just need to check, do you still have the necklace?”

“Yeah,” Soonyoung nodded, finger trailing along his neck till it could hook under the chain and lift it out of his beige stained shirt, “Is it important?”

“Very,” Seokmin smiled and then furrowed his brows in confusion when the Angel reached behind his own neck to fiddle with the clasp, “What are you doing?”

“Giving it back?” Soonyoung responded, equally as confused with his hands frozen in place.

“I’d like you to keep it.”

“For good?” Soonyoung asked, hands dropping back to his lap.

Seokmin nodded with a slight shrug, intending to test the waters, “For now, at least. How have you been?”

“The same as usual like you. I’ve just been working and pestering Jihoon, which reminds me,” Soonyoung diverted from the original question, turning to sit fully facing Seokmin with his legs crossed, “Have you told anyone about my ability?”

“Only Wonwoo,” Seokmin moved to do the same, curious of the nervous expression overcoming Soonyoung’s features, “Why?”

“You won’t tell anyone else, right? And he won’t either?”

“Of course not if that’s what you want,” the Seraph assured, leaning his head down slightly to look at Soonyoung’s downcast expression, “I’m sorry for telling him, I didn’t know you didn’t want me to, but he won’t tell anyone else.”

“You’re certain?” Soonyoung pressed, looking back up into Seokmin’s equally concerned eyes.

The prince pondered for a moment, wondering whether Wonwoo would feel inclined to tell their mother this detail. After quick consideration, he decided that if Wonwoo had done so then Soonyoung’s ability would’ve come up in their conversation earlier, “I’m certain.”

White wings sagged with relief as Soonyoung deflated with an exhale, Seokmin enquiring, “If I may ask, why do you not want people to know? It’s an amazing ability.”

“Jihoon explained it to me when I told him about you,” Soonyoung cut himself short as he eyes widened with ramblings, “Was I allowed to tell him about you? I’m really sorry if I wasn’t. He’s just my best friend and I know he wouldn’t tell anyone else about it and—”

“Soonyoung.”

The Angel paused and blinked, “Yeah?”

“It’s okay,” Seokmin assured gently, easy-going smile melting the other’s sudden anxiety, “Tell me about what he said.”

“Right, yeah,” Soonyoung began, picking at the blades of grass in front of his crossed shins, “Jihoon told me that if anyone of higher status were to find out then they would probably try to weaponise me. At first I didn’t mind the idea because I like helping and protecting people, but he said I would just be a pawn for the army...”

Seokmin watched Soonyoung’s fingers lazily pluck the grass while absorbing his words, “I wouldn’t let them.”

“Hm?” Soonyoung hummed at the back of his throat, lifting his head to look at Seokmin as if that would allow him to hear the muttered words better, “What did you say?”

“I wouldn’t let them weaponise you,” Seokmin declared in a more resolute tone, not letting his voice be carried away by the wind as he locked eyes with the other, “You’re not a soldier.”

“That’s what he said,” Soonyoung smiled and looked down again, warmed by the words, “I wouldn’t be able to carry out commands involving my ability anyway, I can’t do it for too long or it hurts my wings.”

“Then don’t do it too often,” Seokmin fretted, his own wings ruffling slightly under the cloak in empathy.

“I don’t,” Soonyoung promised, “Only you and Jihoon have seen me do it.”

“I’m honoured,” Seokmin grinned and then cocked his head to the side, “Also, are you referring to Jihoon the blacksmith by any chance?”

“Yeah, he explained to me after I met you that he works for your family and has done for years.”

Seokmin nodded in affirmation, “He has. I’ve seen him around a lot but never actually had the chance to speak to him directly. He’s excellent at what he does.”

“He is,” Soonyoung nodded proudly, “I wish he got out more though. His work is all he has.”

“How old is he?”

“24,” Soonyoung answered easily and then furrowed his brows, “Wait, how old are you?”

Seokmin smiled, “23.”

“I’m older than you,” the Angel realised in disbelief, jaw slightly dropped, “I’m 24.” 

“Do I seem old to you or something?” Seokmin joked with a playful eyebrow raise at the other’s astonishment.

“Not at all!” Soonyoung quickly replied, shaking his hands in front of him as if offended by the question, “You just seem much more mature but not in a bad way.”

“Thank you? I think?” Seokmin laughed, an easygoing sound that warmed Soonyoung’s heart, “You’re not that much older than me.”

“I know, I know,” Soonyoung agreed in a placid manner before his stomach growled and interrupted their serenity.

“Hungry?”

“Yeah,” Soonyoung smiled sheepishly, “I haven’t eaten anything yet today.”

Seokmin tutted, about to reprimand other before cocking his head to the side, “Actually, now that you mention it, neither have I.”

“Should I go and get something from the market? Before you ask, you’re not allowed to come with me.”

Seokmin swallowed his words and presented a different question, “How much will it cost?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Soonyoung insisted, getting to his feet with Seokmin following suit.

“Seriously, money isn’t an issue for me.”

“And you think it is for me?” Soonyoung retorted before realising that his tone sounded harsher than intended, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No it’s fine,” Seokmin smiled, slightly wry, “I’m sorry for insisting.”

“It’s fine,” Soonyoung stated, looking away from the other before sighing, “I just get sensitive about people looking down on me.”

“I’d never look down on you,” Seokmin uttered sincerely.

Soonyoung turned his gaze back up to Seokmin’s eyes, playful twinkle making the Seraph relieved, “You’re looking down at me right now.”

“I am,” Seokmin smiled, “But I’ll never think any less of you because of who you are.”

Soonyoung’s mischievous stare faltered and he gave a shy smile, taking a tentative step backwards before taking off for the Capital’s marketplace with a quiet, “Be right back.”

Seokmin sat down on the edge of the cliffside and watched that pair of white wings until they disappeared miles away between brick buildings and wooden lodges.

**━ᕕ━**

“So, your family live days away?” Seokmin asked after finishing a mouthful of food at a natural dip in the conversation. They had discussed various menial things such as their favourite fruit, favourite season and favourite colour; Soonyoung refusing to believe that Seokmin could peel an orange in mere seconds and the prince promising to prove it to him one day.

“Yeah,” Soonyoung nodded, a barely noticeable somber undertone to his voice, “I make sure to visit at least once a year, usually more, and we converse via letters on a monthly basis.”

“Do you miss them?”

“Yeah? I guess? I know they’re still there and I can go see them anytime so it’s not that bad, and I have a good relationship with them. I love them,” Soonyoung responded sincerely before picking another piece of bread off of the large loaf he bought, “What about you? Do you miss your family?”

“I live with them,” Seokmin stated with a confused eyebrow raise, mildly concerned that the other could see right through him already.

“I doubt you get to spend much time with them,” the Angel shrugged, feathers ruffling softly in the afternoon sun, “But I’m just inferring and I don’t actually know, that’s why I asked so you can tell me, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I’d love to,” Seokmin revealed before quickly looking away from Soonyoung’s sympathetic smile, wings still under the cloak curling around himself in a subconsciously protective manner, “I don’t have anyone to talk to about family besides my family, so it’d be nice.”

“Well, I’m listening whenever you’re ready,” Soonyoung voiced cautiously against the breeze.

Seokmin sighed, “I don’t know where to start.”

“How about with Prince Wonwoo?” Soonyoung suggested carefully, sat facing the Seraph while the younger still dangled his legs over the cliffside, “Jihoon told me you’re quite close to him.”

“I am,” Seokmin affirmed with a smile evident in his voice, “He’s the only person I have to talk to really and I’m definitely the only one he has—well, I thought so until today.”

“What happened today?”

“Wonwoo got Archangel Mingyu to help me sneak out. I didn’t even know they knew each other let alone that Wonwoo trusts him that much.”

Soonyoung thought for a second, “But that’s a good thing right? That he does have other people to talk to, even if you don’t know about them.”

“Yeah, it is,” came Seokmin’s delayed reply followed by another sigh and the sag of his wings. The Seraph turned to face Soonyoung and tucked his legs under himself, “Sorry, I have a really complicated home life. It’s not bad per se it’s just not as family-like as it could be, and I do trust you I just don't want to get into it now.”

“That’s fine,” Soonyoung responded with instant reassurance, “Whenever you’re ready, like I said.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Soonyoung waved it away and welcomed in a mischievous tone instead, “It’s not exactly second date material anyway.”

Seokmin’s wings flared out in shock, one of them poking out from under the now askew cloak, “What?”

Soonyoung laughed and drawled in amusement, “I’m joking, I’m joking. Don’t get so worked up.”

Seokmin remained in confused shock and nodded blankly while Soonyoung continued to chuckle as he hoisted himself to his feet. A fleeting touch on his wing had Seokmin twitching the appendage in surprise with a lot of instinctual force, accidentally hitting Soonyoung backwards into the standalone tree atop the hill.

Thankfully, the Angel’s own reflexes were fast enough and his wings were strong enough to stop him before he could reach the trunk and he came to a midair stop with wide eyes.

“Sorry! I’m sorry!” Seokmin snapped out of his daze and apologised profusely, jumping up and jogging over to the Angel, “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

“I think you winded me,” Soonyoung croaked honestly, lowering himself to be sitting on the ground with his back against the tree, “Other than that, I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry,” Seokmin repeated, crouching down and looking at Soonyoung with so much concern that it worried the latter, “I was just thinking and I’ve had a lot of self defence training lately. It was a reflex and I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s fine,” Soonyoung ensured, sounding a little strained but giving a small smile nonetheless, “Note to self, don’t sneak up on Seokmin.”

The Crown Prince smiled at that and asked, “Why did you touch my wing anyway?”

“Your cloak slipped off so I was putting it back on for you, or at least I tried to,” the Angel gave a wry smile.

“I’m so sorry,” Seokmin whined, coming to a sit next to the other’s outstretched legs.

“Hey seriously, it’s fine. I should’ve asked you before I touched you anyway especially considering it was your wings and especially considering that you’re the Crown Prince of Heaven, I can’t believe I keep forgetting that.”

“Of all people,” Seokmin began, “I don’t ever want you to think of me as a prince, and I’m actually glad that you keep forgetting. It’s nice to have a conversation without you calling me Your Highness every time you open your mouth.”

“You don’t like being respected?” Soonyoung asked, arching his back off of the tree and twisting his torso to stretch out the dull ache.

“Mutual respect is a given, but I don’t like the fact that people feel they have to act differently around me because I’m a prince.”

“I think that’s a given too, if I’m honest.”

Seokmin scrunched his face, “To an extent. But if you’re having to act so differently just to make sure you don’t offend me then you probably just need to learn some respect generally.”

“Yeah, I get that,” Soonyoung nodded, “Like they should already be respectful people anyway.”

“Yeah.”

A comfortable silence settled over the pair who were content to stare into each other’s eyes as the wind blew. Seokmin’s worry betrayed him in the serene moment, “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” Soonyoung nodded sincerely, standing up and stretching his wings out before making a show of flying around the hilltop, “See? I can still fly.”

“But does it hurt?” Seokmin persisted, following the other on foot since he didn’t want to risk taking his cloak off.

“I’ll probably have a bruise on my torso tomorrow but it’s seriously fine, Seokmin,” the Angel swore, coming to land in front of the other gracefully, “How come you’re having self defence training anyway?”

“I’ve always had standard military training at the Palace but recently I’ve been ordered to train one-on-one with Seungcheol.”

“You know Seungcheol?” Soonyoung asked with an excited ruffle of the feathers.

“You know Seungcheol?” Seokmin retorted in confusion, “Army General Seungcheol?”

“That’s the one,” Soonyoung smiled with mischief, “Jihoon is gonna flip.”

“Blacksmith Jihoon? Why?”

“Secret,” Soonyoung winked, “I would tell you but I can’t betray my best friend’s trust like that.”

Seokmin pouted by nodded, “I admire that but it doesn’t ease my curiosity at all.”

“Well that’s too bad,” Soonyoung singsonged before shivering in the breeze of dusk and wrapping his wings around himself.

Wordlessly, Seokmin shrugged off one side of his cloak to let one of his baby blue wings out and he wrapped the appendage around Soonyoung, pulling the Angel into his side and completely shielding him from the breeze.

“Thank you,” Soonyoung mumbled somewhat shyly, “I forgot how big your wings are.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty hard to hide,” the Seraph admitted, curling his other wing around himself to create a little shelter around the pair of them.

“They’re not meant to be hidden,” Soonyoung voiced softly, reaching a tentative hand out to stroke along the regal feathers but stopping short in fear of startling the other again.

“You can touch them if you want to,” Seokmin assured, “I promise I won’t whack you with them again.”

Soonyoung gave a slight huff of amusement before letting himself brush his fingers along the neatly placed feathers with wide eyes, “They’re so soft.”

“Thank you,” Seokmin sighed in delight, “I love it when people stroke my wings but no one ever does.”

“Aw,” Soonyoung cooed, “I’ll be your professional wing stroker from now on.”

“I’d like that,” Seokmin said with sincerity despite Soonyoung’s statement being clearly laced with mirth.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Seokmin let his eyes slip shut and enjoyed the feeling of Soonyoung’s hand gliding along his feathered wing in lazy lines. When he opened them a few moments later the darkness of their surroundings became more pertinent as the lanterns in the Capital began to shine brighter than the sky, “Can you see your house from here?”

“You can actually,” Soonyoung affirmed, peering over Seokmin’s wing to point to a rather large building on the outskirts, “I live there with Jihoon and it’s also where he works from.”

“Looks nice. Cozy,” Seokmin observed and then asked, “Where do you work?”

“There,” Soonyoung pointed to another building, slightly larger than his home and neighbouring the field through which Seokmin had walked to get to the cliffside, “It’s an orphanage and there’s thankfully only three kids there, but that’s still three too many. I don’t really have fixed working hours I just go whenever the owners need me to or when I feel like seeing the kids.”

“Are those the three kids you were playing with when I first saw you?” Seokmin asked with a warm smile gracing his features at the memory.

“Yeah,” Soonyoung nodded, a similar expression present on his features, “I haven’t seen them for a few days actually, but I’ll be seeing them tomorrow because the owners are going for a day out.”

“Can I come meet them?”

“Tomorrow?” Soonyoung questioned, turning to look at Seokmin because he was that confused, “How?”

“My father won’t be back until late tomorrow and the council meeting has been postponed until his return, so I don’t have to go home till lunch time tomorrow, just to be safe.”

“That’s great! Of course you can meet them,” Soonyoung beamed and then furrowed his brows, “But if you’re only going home tomorrow, where are you staying tonight?”

Seokmin blinked blankly, “I didn’t think that far ahead.”

Soonyoung laughed, a boisterous sound that bounced around their little shelter created from Seokmin’s wings, “You can stay with me and Jihoon, if you like?”

“Would that be okay?”

“You really think I’d just let you, Crown Prince Seokmin, wander the streets of the Capital when I’ve got a warm bed at home?” Soonyoung asked with sarcasm and recoiled from his words when he realised another interpretation of the sentiment, “I did not mean it like that.”

Seokmin gasped in mock scandalisation, “Are you flirting with your liege?”

Soonyoung smiled, the slow stretch of his lips revealing how comfortable he felt around the other, “That depends, is he going to take me up on my offer?”

Seokmin hummed playfully as if in deep thought, “It is tempting.”

“Come on then,” Soonyoung decided, slipping out of the comfort of Seokmin’s wings, “Am I carrying you again?”

“Yeah that would probably be a good idea. I know it’s dark but the Palace are on the lookout for someone with wings like mine because someone reported seeing such a sight last time.”

“You’ll have to be more careful then,” Soonyoung declared, reaching around Seokmin’s neck to pull his hood up for him, “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Seokmin responded, ruffling his wings under the cloak, “Let’s go see Jihoon.”

“He is going to give me such a lecture about this when you’re gone,” Soonyoung predicted, taking flight to latch onto Seokmin’s torso like a koala again, “It won’t take long to get there, just hold on.”

Seokmin did as told and wound his arms around Soonyoung’s waist as tightly as he could. His legs dangled down while the Angel flew him back to his home and the thought that he could fall at any moment wasn’t made any less terrifying by the fact that he had wings of his own because they were restricted by the cloak.

He trusted that Soonyoung would not let go.

**━ᕕ━**

After landing at the back of his house and sneaking round to the front with Seokmin in tow, Soonyoung barged into his home and greeted his housemate in a singsong manner, “Jihoon, I’m home.”

“So now you show up,” the Dominion drawled as he appeared from around the corner, purple wings flared in outrage and feathers ruffled messily, “Just when I had finally gotten to sleep—”

Jihoon cut himself short at seeing a second person behind Soonyoung, peering out from under a hood, “Who’s that?”

“Promise me you won’t freak out,” Soonyoung requested and then turned around to Seokmin, “Give me your cloak and I’ll hang it up for you under the stairs.”

The Seraph shrugged the material off and handed it to Soonyoung gratefully, though the Angel didn’t make a move yet as he was far too amused by the shock on his friend’s face. Seokmin nodded at Jihoon like he was greeting an old friend, “Nice to finally meet you one-on-one.”

Jihoon was speechless and unmoving, his wings hanging limp behind him and his jaw slightly dropped. Soonyoung stepped closer to the blacksmith and waved a hand in front of his face, “Jihoon? Hello?”

The shorter male grabbed at his wrist and dragged him into the nearest room, which so happened to be their little storage space under the stairs, and slammed the door shut behind them, whisper shouting at the Angel, “Am I dreaming? What the Hell is he doing here?”

“Long story short he snuck out and he’s staying with me till tomorrow lunch time, I can tell you the whole story later.”

Jihoon threw his hands up in drowsy exasperation, “What? He can’t stay here!” 

“Why not?”

“If someone finds out he’s staying here we’ll be jailed,” Jihoon panicked, speechless by Soonyoung casually going about hanging Seokmin’s cloak up, “How are you not worried?”

“No one’s gonna find out that he’s here, okay? And if anyone does then I’ll take full responsibility,” Soonyoung promised sternly, “But until then we have a guest to attend to and I don't think a sign of a good host is hiding in a closet, so come out when you’re ready.”

With that, Soonyoung left the other and attempted to shut the door behind himself but he was stopped by a hand pressing against the wood. Jihoon came out and walked over to Seokmin, seemingly to bow in greeting to the prince, but instead he dropped to his knees and lay his forehead at Seokmin’s feet.

“What are you doing?” the Seraph asked, his earlier awkwardness at being left alone in the foreign environment now replaced by bewilderment.

“I’m sorry if I offended you, Your Highness,” Jihoon spoke into the floor, “Please forgive me.”

“I’ll forgive you if you stand up and look me in the eye,” Seokmin commanded and was instantly met with two sharp eyes staring up at him in apprehension. Whatever Jihoon was expecting it wasn’t for Seokmin’s face to soften into a friendly smile, “Please call me Seokmin, and drop the formalities too. A little birdie told me you’re older than me.”

Jihoon nodded, “Yes, Your H—Seokmin.”

“Is everyone this uptight around you?” Soonyoung asked from where he was leaning against the closet door.

“Everyone but you, it would seem,” Seokmin smiled softly, Sonyoung returned the expression, and Jihoon felt like he was intruding despite being in his own home.

“Right,” Jihoon began, rubbing his eyes and still feeling like he was just having a very lucid dream, “I’m going back to sleep because I need to get up early for a big order tomorrow so you two either need to do the same or be quiet. Not that I’m telling you what to do Your Highness, you do what you want.”

The Seraph was mildly amused by Jihoon’s confused state and didn’t bother to rebuke him about using his official title for now, “I’ll make your acquaintance properly in the morning. Sorry to have woken you.”

“Not at all,” Jihoon waved the apology away, gave a quick bow and headed back around the corner which he had emerged from, scratching his head in disbelief.

“You do have a bedroom, Jihoon,” Soonyoung attempted to stop his friend from sleeping curled up on a chair made of delicately woven strips of wood, ”Use it.”

Purple wings continued on without looking back, completely ignoring the advice as usual, “Good night.”

Seokmin spoke pensively once the Dominion was out of sight, “He seems very…”

“Stressed?” Soonyoung guessed and received a nod of affirmation, “He told me this morning he had a big shipment coming in from the palace and that they wanted everything either cleaned, fixed or melted down into something new within two days.”

“I’m sorry,” Seokmin drew his lips into an apologetic line as though Soonyoung was the one doing the hard labour and he was the one that had ordered it, neither of which were the case. His eyes widened with sudden realisation, “I was in that shipment!”

Soonyoung raised an eyebrow and ruffled his feathers in confusion, “What?”

“That’s how I got here,” Seokmin beamed, “Archangel Mingyu helped me sneak onto a cart filled with weapons in desperate need of attentive care and told me it was going to the blacksmith’s on the edge of town, I didn’t even think that it was most definitely Jihoon’s establishment because I was too busy thinking about seeing you again.”

Soonyoung’s lips parted in shock at the sudden confession and Seokmin seemed just as astonished at his own words, deciding to ramble on to try save himself, “Not in a creepy way or anything! I just missed you and God that sounds weird considering we’ve only met once before this. I—”

“I missed you too,” Soonyoung declared in a soft yet resolute tone, looking up into Seokmin’s eyes and visibly tensing at the icy blue irises staring back at him, his own flashing a striking white.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Seokmin assured, the colour fading from his eyes as softly as the words fell from his lips, “May I come in properly?”

“Oh, yes!” Soonyoung snapped out of his haze of blue and led the other into their living room, picking random objects up from where they had been haphazardly strewn and shoving them back into their rightful places, “Sorry about all this, we don’t really have guests.”

“It’s alright,” Seokmin chuckled at seeing the Angel fly about the small room in a blur of clothing articles and miscellaneous papers, “My room would be a mess if not for Wonwoo.”

“How so?” Soonyoung asked, speed walking into their laundry room to dispose of the mountain of clothes he had collected, Seokmin following him loosely.

“There’s just always stuff on the floor, especially books, and I never have the time to sort it all out,” Seokmin explained, leaving the part out about how all the books end up on the floor in the first place, “Wonwoo likes it to be neat.”

“Lucky you,” Soonyoung quipped, brushing past the prince and into the kitchen, “Me and Jihoon just live in our own mess and clean it up when we can’t find something we need. Would you like anything to eat?”

“What do you have?” Seokmin asked, voice sounding oddly strained.

“Not much, really. Would some fruit be alright?” Soonyoung picked up the basket of fresh fruits and walked back to the living room, suppressing his laughter at the sight of Seokmin.

The Crown Prince of Heaven, Lee Seokmin, was currently trying to wrestle one wing out from between the wooden beams holding the banister up while his other wing wrapped around himself like some form of defensive contortion. He was having trouble because there wasn’t enough space for him to step back and free his trapped wing; Soonyoung was left to wonder how it got between the beams in the first place.

“You having fun there?” Soonyoung snickered, setting the basket down on some drawers before approaching the other.

“My wings are too big for this house,” Seokmin gave one last attempt to free his wing before stilling and sighing with a pout of resignation, “Could you help me?”

“Of course,” Soonyoung smiled, still amused at the situation despite his words being laced with care. He climbed up some stairs to perch on one and better assess the situation, “How did you manage this?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, wing moving slightly with the motion, “I just turned around to follow you and was stuck.”

“Step backwards,” Soonyoung directed, “Now turn around to face the other way and walk forwards.”

It worked. Seokmin’s wing was free and he curled it around himself carefully, now turning to look up at Soonyoung who was peering down at him from between the beams, “How did you know what to do?”

“Just the opposite of what said got you stuck,” the Angel shrugged, “You look like a cocoon.”

“Well, I would turn into a beautiful butterfly but I don’t think I can stretch my wings out fully in this room,” Seokmin joked yet the statement was likely true.

“There’s more room in my bedroom,” Soonyoung revealed, accidentally very forward, “Come up.”

He ascended the rest of the stairs at a slow pace, making sure he could hear Seokmin’s footsteps not far behind, before leading the way into his room and closing the door behind the Seraph. There wasn’t much in the four wooden walls aside from a bed, a desk littered with papers, a chair and a small bookshelf that was rather barren of books but instead held many trinkets.

“Not exactly a prince’s chambers, I know,” Soonyoung mused, “But it’s enough for me.”

“I like it,” Seokmin decided, turning to face Soonyoung after surveying the room and inwardly appreciating the high ceiling, “It feels very homely.”

“Thank you,” Soonyoung fluttered over his bed as a shortcut to the window ledge where several candles resided. He lit them all in the lowlight and the room was soon filled with an orange glow, “I better go blow out the lanterns downstairs. I’ll be right back.”

Soonyoung flew down the stairs (quite literally) and made haste with extinguishing the tiny flames dotted around the ground floor of their house, collecting the fruit basket along the way. He’s lived there for that long that even in complete darkness he can navigate his way back through all the hollow door frames and up the stairs with no problem, slamming to a halt outside of his door to compose himself.

Upon entering his room, Soonyoung was mesmerised by the sight of Seokmin leaning on the window ledge overlooking seemingly endless fields, basking in the moonlight. Lit from above by the sky and from below by the valiant effort of the candles, Seokmin looked absolutely serene with soft shadows falling over his features in all the right ways. His blue-peaked and white-tipped wings were on display in a relaxed manner behind him and Soonyoung remembered just how soft those feathers were, how privileged he was to be allowed to touch them.

Upon the quiet creak of the door as Soonyoung shut it behind himself, Seokmin turned and made contented eye contact with him, “That was fast.”

“What can I say,” Soonyoung shrugged, making his way over to the window ledge after placing the basket on his desk, “I’m a fast flyer.”

“You most certainly are,” Seokmin smiled, drawing his eyes away from Soonyoung’s slowly to look back out at the landscape, “That’s the cliff we were just at, right?”

“Yeah,” Soonyoung respond after casting a quick glance at where Seokmin was pointing before gazing back at the prince’s side profile, “Don’t you have a better view from the palace?”

“From some windows it’s like this,” he gestured to the grasslands and the rolling hills, “But from most its views of the Capital, which can still be quite charming but isn’t nearly as relaxing.”

Soonyoung nodded along with the softly spoken words and looked out at the field for a while longer before turning around and leaning back against the window ledge. His bed stared back at him and he gnawed at the flesh of a plump lip in thought, “We, uh, do have a spare bed in another room but it’ll be really dusty and I just wouldn’t advise you to sleep in there.”

“Then where do you suppose I should sleep?” Seokmin asked in knowing amusement, turning his body to face Soonyoung in a side lean.

“In my bed…” Soonyoung trailed off, unsure of himself, “If that’s alright?”

Seokmin hummed teasingly, “And where will you sleep?”

“...Also in my bed?”

“My my,” Seokmin gasped in mock awe, using one of Soonyoung’s earlier comments against him, “Trying to bed the Crown Prince on the second date?”

“It’s not that—”

“And when Jihoon’s bed is free too?” Seokmin continued, enjoying how flustered Soonyoung was becoming, “Bit hasty, aren’t we?”

“I swear—”

“It’s fine, Soonyoung,” Seokmin halted the other by standing before him and placing his hands on the Angel’s shoulders, “I’d love to sleep with you.”

The pair stared at each other for a second before Soonyoung smiled at their playful altercation, “No need to rush.”

Tense silence surrounded the pair while they stared, both daring the other to look away. Soonyoung saw Seokmin’s eyes flitter down his face before snapping back up to his eyes and he swallowed thickly, “Would you like some fruit?”

“Fruit?” Seokmin voiced in confusion like he’d never heard the word in his life before, “Oh! Yes, fruit. Uh, sure?”

Soonyoung gently took Seokmin’s hands off of his shoulders and walked over to the basket, ignoring how fast his heart was racing, “Apple or banana?”

“Banana,” Seokmin picked, perching on the edge of Soonyoung’s bed and being soon joined by the Angel who had selected the same fruit for himself, “Thank you.”

“No problem.”

After Soonyoung had a snap realisation and fetched a pair of night clothes for each of them to change into, they ate quickly and mostly in silence save for a debate about why we don’t eat the peel and what we should do with it instead. Soonyoung is convinced that banana peels are edible and goes ahead and eats his while Seokmin has never dreamed of eating the peel or even questioned it before.

“Try it,” Soonyoung encouraged, throwing the hard ends of the banana into his bin.

Seokmin took a bite of the peel and grimaced, getting up to dispose of the whole peel while sadly chewing what was in his mouth, “It just feels wrong. How did you eat that?”

“I always have,” Soonyoung laughed at the betrayed expression on Seokmin’s face, “Spit it out if you don’t like it.”

“May I?”

“Of course?” 

Seokmin picked up the small bin, turned away from Soonyoung and spat the awful texture out before returning the bin to its rightful place and going back to the bed, “That was detestable.”

Soonyoung flashed a pleased smile from where he was currently tucking himself into one side of the bed, “At least you tried it and you know now. Come on.”

The Seraph walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in carefully, “What about the candles?”

Soonyoung groaned in annoyance and was about to get up again before Seokmin stopped him, “It’s alright, I’ll do it.”

He wafted his large wing gently and then with a bit more force when some of the flames still flickered back at him. Soonyoung gawked like he’d just seen a miracle, “What?”

“I can’t believe I’ve never thought of that.”

Seokmin chuckled while snuggling into his half of the bed, “You discover new ways to do things when you’re as lazy as I am.”

“I don’t believe that you’re lazy,” Soonyoung mumbled through a yawn and a shiver, “You’re the Crown Prince, how can you be lazy?”

“You’d be surprised,” Seokmin promised, “Are you cold?”

“I usually have the bed to myself and I can fit on then,” Soonyoung pouted.

Lying facing each other with a gap between them, their wings both hung out of the duvet and over the edge of the bed. If it was just Soonyoung alone then him and his wings would fit snugly in the space, yet if it were just Seokmin alone his wings would likely still poke out from under the sheets.

“Is it okay if we move closer together?” Seokmin asked tentatively and received a shy nod, so proceeded to shuffle as close to the other as he could get, “Are your wings under now?”

“Mostly,” Soonyoung voiced practically against Seokmin’s neck, the latter resting his chin on his head, “You can touch me, it’s okay.”

Seokmin’s hand that was awkwardly hovering over Soonyoung’s waist at having nowhere else to go gently wrapped around the Angel but caused the latter to jolt almost violently. The Seraph quickly realised that he must’ve touched the very sensitive area where Soonyoung’s wings connect to his back by accident, “Sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Soonyoung breathed heavily after gasping, body relaxing slowly from it’s newly arched position, “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Seokmin insisted, hand sliding down to rest over Soonyoung’s lower waist instead, “I shouldn't have touched you there, that’s worse than when you made me jump by touching my wing earlier.”

“It’s okay,” Soonyoung began, cheeks burning bashfully but thankfully Seokmin couldn’t see his face, “I don’t mind you touching me there.”

“Oh,” Seokmin exhaled and Soonyoung’s skin continued to prickle from the fleeting touch, “Are you sure?”

Soonyoung hummed an affirmation, “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.”

The Angel sighed, soft breath tickling Seokmin’s neck, “I’ve never cuddled with anyone before.”

“Can I tell you something?” Seokmin responded, receiving a small nod, “Neither have I.”

“I just stole your cuddle virginity.”

“Or did I steal yours?” Seokmin countered, the pair of them chucking quietly into the night.

“I think there’s something intimate about night time,” Soonyoung uttered into the darkness, “It’s when you’ve got your own time alone to think about everything private, but sharing that time with someone else is something I always imagined to be special.”

Seokmin hummed, “Is it as special as you thought?”

“More special,” Soonyoung admitted, the tips of his wings curling in slightly, “I’m alone but I’m alone with you.”

“We’re alone,” Seokmin compacted the whimsical sentence, nothing but the light of the moon infiltrating their privacy.

“Yeah,” Soonyoung agreed, nestling into Seokmin’s collarbones like he’s done it a thousand times, “But we’re alone together, and I think that’s beautiful.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading~~ please leave a kudos or a comment it would mean the world to me and i really hope people are still interested in this story even though it's been months skjfsdk
> 
> ☆ [hmu on twitter! @xiiaeo](https://twitter.com/xiiaeo) ☆


End file.
